A Child's Heart
by dark rolling sea
Summary: Sequel to A Child's Eyes. The cast has come off Gibbs' shoulder as he copes with having Nicole and Jen in his life. Jen tells Gibbs he can come back to work...
1. Frustration Mounts

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or it's characters. I do not make any money from this, I am just barrowing for the enjoyment of my readers. I claim Nicole Conrad as my own, I did create her.**

**AN: Ok, so don't hate me but I'm kinda stuck on Life Ever After. Have no fear it will get done I just can't promise when! Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. In the meantime I'm also working on Giving Up The Heart and now this one...So! Yes! This is a sequel to A Child's Eyes! Not sure where it is headed, but I didn't know where the other one was going either and look where it ended up! So enjoy and let me know what you think. Thanks. dark rollling sea.

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A Child's Heart

**Chapter One: Frustration Mounts**

Gibbs sat in his basement and stared at his boat, neglected for so long while his arm was immobilized in the horrendous white contraption the doctors called a cast. They had removed it last week, ten full weeks after he had been shot while trying to rescue his new adopted daughter Nicole. His arm constantly burned with pain, his shoulder throbbing with each movement as his muscles were moved once more.

They had been dormant for so long, trapped while the bones healed back together, and the muscles fused back to a normal state. Scar tissues built up in the hole that was entrenched through his shoulder, filling the voids, making the muscles solid once more. His clavicle had refused itself and the acromion had reattached itself.

His shoulder was stiff from nonuse and the pain was still pulsing through, sometimes with even more fierceness than when the bullet had torn it all apart in the first place. But this was something he would not admit, he would not break down, he would endure the torturous pain of using his arm again, without the aid of high doses of pain medication.

He stared at the tools sitting, covered in dust, on the table and then slowly turned his head to face the boat. How he ached to work on her, to feel his hands smooth the boat, and form the wood into something tangible. He heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs behind him but he did not turn to look. He knew who it was.

Her feet padded quietly across the cement basement floor, disappearing when she reached the rug by the couch. He could feel her presence come up behind him and then her small hand gently gripped his left arm. She was so careful around him, never coming in contact with the right side, knowing full well that it was excruciating for him.

His lips curled without his permission into a small smile as she leaned her head against his left shoulder, not breaking the silence that encased the room. She reached out with her other hand and slowly ran it down the ribbing of the boat. Gibbs watched her hand, his smile disappearing as he bit his lip. She sensed his apprehension and turned slightly to look up at him.

"It'll be ok, Gibbs," she said softly with such innocence and truth in her eyes that he swallowed back the tears that threatened to form in his eyes. He slowly nodded, not trusting his own words as he looked away from her once again. His left arm pulled from her light grasp and moved around her gently coming down surrounding her shoulders pulling her closer to him. He leaned down and kissed the top of the twelve year old's head and left his cheek gently pressing against her.

Gibbs heard another set of feet on the steps. They came down a couple before stopping and then a soft noise before nothing. He hugged Nicole tighter and took a deep breath, relishing in the fact that there was a child in his life once again. He fought the tears and closed his eyes to ward off the memories of the past, not that he didn't want to remember Kelly; he just didn't want it to intrude now. He opened his eyes again and shifted slightly, bringing his head up and glancing over his shoulder. Looking up the stairs he saw Jen sitting on the third from the top, watching him and Nicole sitting in front of the boat.

She glanced at her wrist, checking the time, before she pushed herself to her feet again and came down the rest of the steps, coming up slowly behind Gibbs and Nicole. She reached out and ran a hand through Gibbs' hair, ruffling it, before her hand slipped softly to Nicole's shoulder.

"It's time for bed, Nic," she said quietly as the girl looked up at her. Nicole nodded once and then looked at Gibbs for a moment before she leaned close to his ear.

"Give it time," she whispered to him before she kissed him on the cheek and moved to go up the stairs and out of their sight. Jen's hand came to rest on Gibbs' left shoulder and she rubbed a gentle circle over his shirt causing him to look at her with sadness in his eyes. She also saw the pain circling deep within his orbs, something he tried desperately to hide from her.

"You staying here tonight?" Gibbs asked leaning his cheek against her arm as it stilled on his shoulder. Jen thought about it for a moment. Through their entire two and a half month relationship she had managed to split her time equally between his home and her apartment. He left it up to her to choose which place she stayed at, which play she called home.

"Do you want me too?" she asked dropping her arm to his back, resuming her rubbing gesture. He didn't answer her and she studied him. His eyes were clenched closed, his right hand was tightly fisted, his shoulder tense. Her hand slowly came up his back and came into contact with the right shoulder, causing his eyes to open. He looked up at her with a frown on his face but still didn't say a word to her. She slowly nodded, seeing in his eyes that he wanted her to stay.

They could hear Nicole moving around in the upper level, getting ready for bed. Gibbs was growing fatigued himself and hated the feeling. Lately he had trouble keeping himself from feeling tired. He had been off work since the shooting and Jen wouldn't even let him in the building. He spent his days sitting in his house with nothing but the DVD player Nicole had made him buy so long ago.

The team stopped by when they could to visit him but for the most part he was stuck in his home, a prisoner of sorts while his damn shoulder healed. With the cast off he was now in a detailed physical therapy program to get the muscles back into shape and to gradually help him regain the use of his shoulder. He had done three sessions since the cast came off and each time he had felt like pulling his service weapon out and shooting the young man who was manipulating the shoulder.

But he practiced his restraint and remained idle, knowing it was just the kid's job. The young man was not doing it on purpose and nothing would make his shoulder be normal once again besides the agonizing routines he was put through.

Jen circled behind him and wrapped her arms around him under his own arms, laying her head against his left shoulder blade, clasping her hands across his chest. She kissed his neck softly and then put her chin on his shoulder.

"Let's go upstairs," she said. He nodded slowly and stood, while she released her hold on him. They came up to the top of the stairs to see Nicole come from the bathroom clad in her pajamas. She smiled at them both and bounced across the floor, closing the gap between them. She stopped in front of Jen first and hugged the woman before she turned to Gibbs.

"Night, Gibbs," she said as he bent down in front of her. She kissed his cheek and hugged him before he let her go and she headed for her room. He watched until she closed the door before he turned and saw Jen heading towards his own room. He stood for a moment waiting in the hallway, thanking God for giving him a family again.

He reflected on how much had changed back in August when Nicole Conrad had come into his life after her mother had been murdered. He had ruthlessly and diligently tracked down the killer for the young girl, firmly forming a connection to her in the process. When the end came he was unable to give her up and had fought with everything he had to be able to adopt her and keep her in his life forever.

He had won, they had let her live with him and now he was her father. He was solely responsible for the young woman that resided in the room next to his. A smile crossed his face, knowing that nothing meant more to him than her safety and happiness. It was also during this time that his feelings for Jen came to light, knowing that they had been there, just buried deep within him.

Never did he think she would still harbor the same for him, but to his surprise she had. They had agreed to give it a try, knowing full well it would be difficult to restart their relationship with a twelve year old in the mix, but the pull was strong. And here he stood now, between the two women in his life, and he realized he hadn't been this happy in almost twenty years.

He slowly made his way down the hallway towards his room, where Jen was waiting for him. His right arm was cradled in front of him, as was becoming habit when it was sore, as he carefully made his way through the door. Jen caught sight of his demeanor and looked down at the sheets she was sitting on top of. Gibbs caught the avoidance and tilted his head to the side before he spoke.

"What?" he asked softly, knowing what she was about to say.

"Take some pills, Jethro," she whispered softly, her eyes coming up and meeting his own.

"I don't need them," he said with a small shake of his head, his eyes locking onto her hers, daring her to contradict him. She bit on her lower lip gently before conceding with a small nod, after which she patted the bed next to her.

"Then come to bed," she said lying back against the pillows. Gibbs came around the bed and laid down, as Jen snuggled into him. He wrapped his good arm around her as she drew random patterns on his shirt clad chest. His shoulder would get better he told him self with frustration, this was temporary. It was something he repeated to himself a lot lately as the frustration of the situation bared its teeth at him.

Time would pass and his shoulder would be fine. He went through this before he could make it through this again. _It wasn't this bad last time_ something in his mind told him but he tried to ignore it. It would be ok, his shoulder would be 'normal' again. He would return to work, and he would have his family. He just had to be patient, he would be patient.

There were his thoughts as he drifted to sleep. These were his thoughts every night as he drifted to sleep, since the cast was removed. Some nights he was alone in his bed, some nights Jen shared it with him, but every night he told himself his shoulder would heal in time. The frustration was simply temporary; it was what kept him going.

TBC…


	2. Good Morning

**Disclaimer on chapter one.**

**AN: Whoo hoo, chapter two. This came in spurts tonight, so if it's jagged I'm sorry, but I think it reads pretty smooth. All right enjoy and let me know what you think. dark rolling sea.

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Chapter Two: Good Morning

Gibbs was awake before the alarm sounded, but he stayed in bed. Jen was still asleep curled into his side and he didn't want to disturb her. He watched her sleep, pondering how much his life had changed. Pain thrummed through his shoulder, pulsating down to his hand, but he just gritted his teeth and bared it. He would not be held prisoner by the healing of his shoulder. He would not let the men that died win.

The alarm clock blared and Jen rolled over slapping it off before she curled back into him with a groan. Gibbs let a small smile slip across his lips before he nudged her. She shook her head slightly and buried it deeper into his side. He then sat up and pulled away from her, the smile growing wider on his face. She opened her eyes, narrowing them at him, before a smile slowly came across her lips.

"Morning," he said leaning against the headboard.

"That it is," she said as she flopped back onto the pillows.

"I could go in your place; you could stay here all day. I'm sure I could…"

"Absolutely NOT," she replied sitting up and pulling the blankets off. She slid to her feet and slowly made her way to the bathroom to get ready for work. Gibbs slid back down into the bed and pulled the covers around his chest. He stared at the wall as he listened to the water start in the shower.

He flexed his right shoulder, trying to relieve some of the ache but it was of no use, still he willed himself not to break down, drugs he did not need he repeated to himself. He stayed under the covers for another half hour before he finally tossed them aside before making his way down the stairs.

He started breakfast, making some bacon and a ham and cheese omelet for Jen. He was just finishing up putting the food on the table when her head poked into the kitchen, taking a deep inhale of the smell wafting towards her.

"Coffee's in the pot, food's on the table," he said quietly as he stood leaning against the counter, his right arm tucked in front of him. Jen studied him before walking across the room and stopping in front of him. She reached out and took a deep breath as her fingers gently touched his jaw. He closed his eyes briefly and then smiled at her when he opened them.

"You ok?"

"You got to stop asking that," he said a hint of annoyance in his voice. Jen nodded slowly retracting her hand and moving back towards the table. He looked down at the floor his hands clasping the counter behind him. He then pushed off and grabbed a coffee mug from the shelf and poured her a cup, setting it down in front of her.

He then went back and did the same for himself sitting in the chair next to her. He sipped his coffee slowly, as he reached for bacon. After Jen was done eating she went back upstairs to finish getting ready while Gibbs cleaned up the dishes, slowly losing all use of his right arm and fighting the frustration that came with it. The burning sensation was almost down to his elbow by the time he washed the last dish.

He heard Jen coming down the stairs again and he went out into the living room to see her off. She came up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck looking him in the eye. She leaned in and kissed him. After pulling back she tilted her head to the side.

"I'll let you come back soon. Couple more therapy sessions, ok?" she said softly. He kept the emotion void in his eyes but nodded his head once in answer to her question. He then kissed her before she let him go and strolled out the door heading to headquarters.

Gibbs headed down to the basement knowing it would be an hour before Nicole woke up for school. He sat on the couch and stared at his boat, aching to work on her, knowing it would be too much. Staring at it helped him to calm the burning fire, taking his mind off the scorching throb in his shoulder. Finally he reached out with his left arm and grabbed the remote clicking on CNN, a small smile crossing his lips as his memories from two months ago flitted across his mind.

He watched the morning report with half interest before he got up and made his way up the stairs, as he heard Nicole moving around. He headed for the kitchen knowing that was the place she would turn up and went to the cupboard where he kept the bowls. He learned early on that Nicole preferred a cold breakfast as opposed to a hot one and none of his arguments could convince her otherwise. So he relented and let her have her way, serving her cereal most mornings.

He reached with his right arm up to the top shelf in the cupboard for a bowl but his shoulder only came about half way up before the pain and stiffness hindered his movement from progressing any farther. He winced as the shoulder gave way and his arm came crashing down to his side. His eyes clenched closed in pain and frustration as he opened and closed his hand slowly.

Nicole witnessed all of this from the doorway and slowly made her way across the kitchen to his side. Her hand gently came to his back to let him know she was there before she quietly hoisted herself up onto the counter and retrieved a bowl for herself before scooting down a door and pulling out her cereal. Gibbs stayed motionless leaning against the counter waiting for her to finish. She poured the cereal into the bowl then placed the box back into the cupboard before, sliding from the top and landing on the floor with a soft thud and making her way to the table.

She placed the bowl on the table and went to the fridge where she pulled the gallon of milk out. After pouring the desired amount of milk over her cereal she replaced the gallon in the fridge and then grabbed a spoon from the drawer before sitting down. Gibbs still had not made a sound nor had he moved from the spot along the counter. Nicole spooned cereal into her mouth and chewed slowly, watching Gibbs battle his frustration on his own. She put the spoon down and turned to face him waiting a moment composing her thoughts before she spoke.

"It's ok to not be strong, Gibbs. I don't mind," she said softly. Gibbs' eyes came up to her own and she saw the turmoil in them. She knew he was scared of his shoulder being permanently damaged but he would never admit that, not even to her. She got up from her chair and moved slowly up in front of him, pausing briefly before she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.

His arms came down reflexively and encircled her small form pulling her closer to him. She pushed her chin up, resting it on his chest and smiled up at him. The gesture caused him to smile in return, unable to wallow in his own self pity a moment longer when she looked up at him.

The light this child brought into his life was enormous to Gibbs. He just wondered what would happen when he did eventually go back to work, the long hours, the days on end without coming home, the weeks away from DC, all would have to stop. He would need to consider what he could and couldn't do; he would need to keep Nicole's well being forefront on his mind.

Nicole let go of him and removed herself from his arms, making her way back to the cereal bowl on the table, scooping a spoonful of food into her mouth. He knew she was hurting too, dealing with the loss of her mother a little over two months ago. It amazed him that she could show him so much support and keep up the appearance of coping with such ease. He knew at night she was in another state of being, as he had dealt with the nightmares that plagued her.

Her ability to balance her own grief and his frustration with his own situation intrigued him as well. He wondered just how much of everything was an act, and how much she really felt. He knew she was as attached to him as he was to her, but he also knew she was pretending to be fine so that he could concentrate on getting better. As he watched her eat her breakfast he made the decision to talk to her tonight about how she was dealing with her own loss.

She finished her cereal and took the bowl and spoon to the sink and rinsed them both off before she headed back to her room to change. Gibbs sat down at the kitchen table and stared at the top for a while, thinking about everything that he needed to talk to Nicole about. He knew she was still having nightmares, and that sometimes she was frightened or tense around strangers. He also knew that she was mourning the loss of her mother. It was another twenty minutes before Nicole came down the stairs with her book bag slung over her shoulder.

She grabbed her light jacket, slipping the bag to the ground while shrugging the jacket over her shoulders, before lifting the bag back to her shoulders. She waited for Gibbs but he didn't come out of the kitchen so she walked to the doorway and leaned against the jamb and watched him stare at the table.

"It's not going to do any tricks," she said with a smile, her head tilted to the side. Gibbs grinned and looked up at her.

"Caught me," he said.

"What are you thinking about, Gibbs?" she asked softly.

"Just some stuff. We'll talk when you get home from school," Gibbs said with a smile. Nicole eyed him wondering what this was about. "Nothing bad, Kido, I promise."

Nicole nodded slowly then tipped her chin up. "Can we go to headquarters today?"

"Jen said I'm not allowed," Gibbs said with a shrug.

"That's not fair, just because you're not allowed shouldn't mean I can't go visit the Team," Nicole said with a slight whine to her voice. Gibbs grinned at her and shook his head.

"Well you got school first. Let's get a move on or you'll be late," Gibbs said. Nicole crossed her arms over her chest and pouted a moment before she turned and marched to the car. They rode to the school in silence and as Nicole was getting from the car she stopped and looked back at him.

"You'll get better, Gibbs, you don't need to push it," she said softly with a slight smile. He nodded once.

"I know, Kido, I know," he said softly as she leaned back over in the car and hugged him before she escaped from the vehicle and bounded up to the school. Gibbs watched her disappear through the front doors before he drove back to the house.

TBC…


	3. Therapy with Reed

**Disclaimer on chapter one.**

**AN: Hey hey, chapter three...yay! So I finished this tonight and thought I'd put it up. Little more to the story. Enjoy and let me know what you think. Sorry bout the long wait :-) dark rolling sea.

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Chapter Three: Therapy with Reed

After Gibbs dropped Nicole off at school he drove himself home again. His shoulder ached and burned from the use he was doing, but he ignored it. He checked the clock, still an hour before he had to leave for his therapy session. There wasn't much to do, since he couldn't work on his boat so he sat down on the couch and stared at the television.

The time seemed to crawl by before he finally got up to leave. After the short drive, he arrived for his session and slowly made his way into the building. He took a deep breath and pushed through the glass doors at the front. He smiled at the woman running the reception desk before taking a seat.

Shortly a young man with sandy blonde hair, cut short into a spike, came down the hallway towards him. A smile flashed across his lips as he spotted Gibbs sitting uncomfortably in the plastic waiting chairs. The man walked to the reception desk and leaned on it.

"You ready, Gibbs?" he asked. Gibbs brought his head up upon hearing his name, spotting Reed Donahue standing against the desk. He waited a moment then stood slowly walking towards the younger man.

"Nope, but I don't have a choice, Reed, now do I?" Gibbs countered. Reed smiled broadly at Gibbs attitude and motioned for him to follow. Reed turned and headed back to the room they would use for Gibbs' therapy session, as Gibbs reluctantly trudged along behind him.

Once settled, Reed looked at Gibbs and noticed the distracted look in the older man's eyes. Reed had to admit, even with the gruff and fierce outlook, he truly enjoyed his sessions with one Special Agent Jethro Gibbs. He noticed that his patient wasn't going to make the first move towards starting his therapy, so Reed stood and moved to the weights and picked out a dumb bell.

"Come on, Gibbs, don't make me work too hard today," Reed said handing the Agent the weight. Gibbs looked at the kid briefly, before he grabbed it and held onto it. He stared at the weight sitting on the bench. "You gonna use that today?"

"Reed, don't push today," Gibbs barked out. He looked down ignoring the surprised look on the younger man's face. Reed leaned back against one of the weight machines and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Want to talk about it?"

Gibbs wasn't expecting that, and his head snapped up, glaring at the younger man standing in the room with him. He then stood from the bench and started to lift his arm quickly from his side up, so it was parallel from his shoulder. He winced at the pain. Reed caught the emotion in his eye and reached out to stop him from lifting his shoulder again.

"We stop when we feel pain," Reed reminded him. Gibbs cut him with another stare, before his eyes drifted to the offending object in his hand. "You alright?"

"Yes," Gibbs said quietly and then set the dumb bell down on the bench and stared at it.

"You seem completely distracted," Reed said sitting down on the shoulder fly machine. Gibbs brought his eyes up, landing them on the young man staring back at him.

"Maybe I am," he countered.

"Problem at home or with the shoulder?" Reed asked concerned.

"Shoulder's wrecked," Gibbs replied flexing his hand. The young man saw the pain in the older man's eyes.

"Hey, Gibbs, what'd I tell you about this?"

"Takes time," Gibbs said picking up the weight and shaking his head. "Just got too much going."

"You're trying to hard to get back to normal."

"I can't go back to normal," Gibbs said looking down pulling his arm up straight out in front of him. He repeated the motion slowly.

"It's a big change taking on everything you did."

"It's worth all the headache," Gibbs said with a smile.

"And the fight?" Reed asked hopefully. Gibbs glanced up at the kid and smiled.

"Yes," Gibbs said. "It's just all so much, having Jenny back in my life more than my boss. Nicole coming in and filling that hole. My shoulder, not having my work. It's all just…"

"Overwhelming. You ever consider talking to someone?"

"What like a shrink?" Gibbs asked incredulously.

"Anyone," Reed said with a shrug.

"This doesn't count?"

"Well, I mean someone that knows more," Reed said with a smile.

"You sound like Ducky now," Gibbs replied continuing with his shoulder exercises. Reed couldn't control the grin expanding on his face and Gibbs shook his head. They continued with the shoulder exercises for another half hour before the soreness drove Gibbs to call it a day.

"You did a lot more today than last time," Reed said with encouragement. Gibbs nodded slowly at the young man.

"Yeah," he replied dryly.

"How's Nicole dealing with things?" Reed asked suddenly, watching Gibbs closely for a reaction. He saw the flicker of uncertainty flash through the older man's eyes, before it was quickly covered up.

"She's stronger than I'll ever be," Gibbs said softly looking at the floor. Reed nodded. "Don't know how she does it."

"She's a kid," Reed said with a smile. Gibbs nodded and then got up.

"I'll see you in a couple days," Gibbs said with a smile as Reed returned it.

"Yup. We'll progress next time. Remember to do the home exercises."

"Right," Gibbs mumbled as he walked out. When he reached home he had a few hours before Nicole got out of school and he groaned. This was the worst part of his day, waiting for something to happen. The time he spent during the day with nothing to occupy himself with always drained him.

The time continued to slip by as he battled his frustration with his situation. Finally it was time for him to pick up Nicole and he made his way to her school. She smiled as she climbed into the car and saw the sad look in his eye. He forced a small smile before he pulled away from the curb.

"You're worried about me," she said softly staring at the dash.

"It's my job," Gibbs replied. Nicole looked up at him and frowned before staring out the window.

"I'm ok, Gibbs," she said forcibly. "How'd your session go today?"

"Fine. I'm progressing," Gibbs said. "I want to talk to you."

"So talk."

"Look, I think it would be good for both of us. Please keep an open mind," Gibbs said gently. Nicole looked at him to see his eyes clouded and slightly confused. The expression was something new to her and she stilled in the car.

"Ok," she said shakily.

"I know you're worried about me healing and you think you have to be strong for me," Gibbs started avoiding Nicole's eyes for the moment. "But it's ok for you to grieve for your mom."

Nicole battled the tears as she bit at her lower lip. "It's ok," she replied hastily.

"Don't try to hide it, Kido, trust me."

"I miss her so much, Gibbs," she whispered.

"I know," he said as he pulled into the driveway, putting the car in park. Neither one made a move to exit the vehicle.

"I still see him in my dreams. I mean I know he's dead but I still see him."

"That's going to happen, Kido."

"And I love living with you and Jen, but I miss my mom so much," Nicole continued as the tears slipped down her cheeks. She turned to face Gibbs and struggled to keep her emotions under control.

"I know you've been holding it all in, so I wouldn't worry about you. It's ok, Kido, I worry more if you don't let it all out. You need to grieve for you mom. I can't take the nightmares away but I can try."

"I know," she replied trying not to sob.

"I'm scared too, Kido. So damn scared my shoulder will fail me. Scared I won't be able to be a field agent. Scared of my new life," Gibbs continued softly. "If we work together and talk to each other I think it's going to be ok."

Nicole nodded as the tears blinded her. Neither one spoke after that as they both continued to sit in the car. It had been a while before Nicole looked up at Gibbs. He glanced at her, feeling her stare weigh upon him.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"Let's go to headquarters. So what if Jen said you can't come. We need some human contact."

"Human contact? You call that human contact?" Gibbs asked with a laugh.

"Well it's contact anyway," Nicole said with a smile. Gibbs thought a moment before throwing the car in reverse and backing out of the parking lot. Nicole's smile widened to a grin when she realized he was defying Jen's order and heading to headquarters.

TBC…


	4. Defying Orders

**Disclaimer on chapter one.**

**AN: Wow it's been two months since I posted on this baby...SORRY! about the wait. Ok so this chapter didn't quite turn out the way I thought it would, but I think it has some potential...anyway, let me know what you think! dark rolling sea.

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Chapter Three: Defying Orders

They had parked the car and were in the building before Gibbs felt that maybe he shouldn't have given in to the twelve-year-old's idea. He thought about the trouble he may get into with Jen. Then it simply made him smile. He decided that Nicole's well being was worth more than Jen being mad at him, for five minutes. They made it through security and were in the elevator riding quietly towards the bullpen when Nicole finally spoke.

"You think Jen will be super mad at you?"

"Nope, just plain mad," Gibbs said with a grin. Nicole smiled up at him.

"You gonna smack Tony?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Gibbs said as the elevator doors opened. Nicole bounded out quietly with a smile on her face as Gibbs rounded the corner with eyes for his team. Ziva and McGee were at their desks, and appeared to be working. Tony, on the other hand, was sitting with his feet propped up balancing a pencil on his lips. Gibbs couldn't resist the urge and swiftly came up behind Tony and smacked him on the head.

The pencil flew off Tony's lips as a startled yelp escaped. Ziva and McGee both looked up sharply at the noise and neither could keep the grins off their faces. Nicole came up and stood in front of Tony's desk.

"This was probably your idea," Tony mumbled at Nicole. Her shoulders rose and fell gently in a slight shrug as she grinned at the agent. "I thought you weren't allowed to be here, Boss."

"DiNozzo, when have I ever followed orders?"

"Ah, right, Boss," DiNozzo said nodding. "How are things going?"

"Progressing," Gibbs grunted and Nicole cringed as she shook her head. Tony noticed the exchange, but decided now was not the best time to continue the conversation. It was then a strange man came in and sat down at what had been Kate's desk. Gibbs stared at the man as his head tilted to the side. The man swallowed and shifted uneasily under the probing gaze. Tony pushed his feet down from his desk and stood, coming around his desk quickly to stand next to Gibbs.

"This is Special Agent Logan Bariston, Boss," Tony said. "Temporarily on the team."

"My team?" Gibbs asked looking at Tony with a squint.

"Uh, yeah. He's working with us right now, Boss," McGee said.

"On what?"

"A case," Ziva said not looking up from what she was doing. Gibbs looked around at each member of his team, settling his gaze on Bariston.

"What case?"

"Listen, Boss, it's ok, we've got it under control," Tony said.

"That means they don't need your help, Gibbs," Nicole added earning her a glare from Gibbs. She simply shrugged in response. "Let's go see Abby."

Nicole headed towards the elevator before Gibbs could stop her. He stared at Tony another few seconds before he hurried after the child. Once they were moving behind the closed doors of the elevator, Nicole turned to Gibbs.

"I'm sure she had a reason for not telling you," Nicole said softly. "But look on the bright side, Tony said temporary."

"It's still my team," Gibbs grumbled.

"I know, but right now you're not there."

Gibbs let out a sigh and nodded to her as the doors opened. Nicole was down the hallway before Gibbs was even out of the elevator and he had to shake his head, but couldn't contain the smile. Nicole was standing shifting from foot to foot, waiting impatiently for Gibbs, as he finally came up to the doors.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"You know I can't get in on my own," Nicole said her hands finding her hips.

Gibbs chuckled before he let them both into the lab. Nicole covered her ears as the music assaulted them. She moved swiftly around the lab looking for the Goth lab rat, while Gibbs moved to the stereo and switched it off. As soon as the music was killed Abby appeared from the office.

"Hey!" she yelled sounding annoyed. "Who killed the tunes?"

"He did," Nicole said with a smile pointing at Gibbs.

"Oh wow! I'm so happy to see you guys," Abby said with a squeal as she pulled Nicole into a hug. Gibbs walked up to her and kissed her on the temple.

"Good to see you too, Abbs," Gibbs replied.

"You are not supposed to be here though," Abby said with a grin.

"So, does he ever listen?" Nicole said with a giggle. Abby had to agree with her and then they spent the next half hour catching up. Abby and Nicole were still giggling about something when Gibbs announced he was heading to the morgue to find Ducky. Nicole told him she would be staying with Abby.

Once in the morgue Gibbs stood back a moment and listened as Ducky told a dead body a story. He couldn't help but smile. _God how much he missed this place_. He then slowly came up beside Ducky and placed his hands on the table. Ducky jumped slightly.

"Jethro, you put quite a fright into me," Ducky said once he gained his wits back.

"Sorry, Ducky, but I didn't want to interrupt the story."

"Never stopped you before."

"Never realized how much I missed this place," Gibbs replied softly with a sigh.

"Vacation getting you down?" Ducky asked as he walked away from the body. Gibbs walked over to an unused table and took a seat. Ducky sat on the edge of his desk and studied the man in front of him.

"Nothing to do," he said looking at his feet. Ducky nodded.

"And how is the young one?"

"Nicole's doing ok. She's trying to be strong for me and I'm worried she's not grieving."

"It will take time, Jethro, it will all take time."

"I know, Duck, I'm just not patient enough."

"Obviously. I'm quite certain that Director Shepherd specifically told you NOT to come to NCIS. Am I right?"

"You are."

"And does the good director know you are in the building now?"

"Don't know, Ducky, haven't seen her yet," Gibbs replied with a grin. "I talked to DiNozzo, Ziva, and McGee. Along with the new kid."

"Ah Special Agent Bariston. Temporarily assigned to your team."

"Right. And I left Nicole in the lab with Abby. So I haven't seen…"

"Jethro, can I ask what you are doing here?" Jen asked as she came in through the doors to the morgue. Gibbs smiled at Ducky.

"I stand corrected," Gibbs replied before looking up at Jen. "I'm talking to Ducky."

"I told you not to come in until…"

"I know and when have I ever followed orders?"

"Jethro," she said warningly.

"Perhaps you would like some privacy. I'll just…" Ducky cut in.

"No bother, Ducky, we're heading up to my office now," Jen said.

"We are?" Gibbs countered.

"Yes," Jen replied and turned walking out of the morgue. Gibbs hopped down from the table and followed her out.

"Oh dear, that could get interesting," Ducky said to the dead body as he went back to work.

The two arrived at Jen's office without further conversation. Once in behind the closed door Jen stood staring at Gibbs as he grinned back at her. She shook her head and let out a sigh. Gibbs stepped closer.

"What? Is it really that bad I'm here?" Gibbs asked. Jen shook her head.

"No."

"Besides it wasn't my idea. Nicole wanted…"

"She gets whatever she wants?" Jen countered with a little more emotion than she had intended.

"Easy, Jen, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Jen replied touching her fingers just over her eye. She felt a headache coming on and needed to calm herself down a little.

"This isn't nothing, what's going on?" Gibbs asked stepping closer and wondering what was the matter.

"Just let it drop, Jethro."

"I don't think," Gibbs began getting a little annoyed. He wanted to know what she had meant by the harsh comment.

"Let's not get into this here," Jen said walking behind her desk and placing her hands palms down on it.

"Get into what, Jen?"

"Dammit, Gibbs," she said as more anger seeped through.

"I don't know what the problem is," he replied in a gruff tone. His own anger beginning to brew. "I got enough stress on my plate, Jen. I don't need you acting like a…"

"A what?"

"A spoiled child," Gibbs gritted out at her. She glared back at him.

"I am not," she retorted angrily.

"Then why are you keeping things from me?"

"Like what?"

"The case my team is working on, they wouldn't even share a little, or the new temporary agent on my team, for starters."

"Look, Jethro, it's still your team and will be _when_ you come back. For now you are _not_ running things. Got that?"

"I didn't say I wanted to run anything, I just want to know what the hell is going on. And what did you mean earlier about Nicole?"

"Look I don't want to…"

"We're getting into this now," Gibbs said putting a hand down on her desk. His blue eyes dancing with emotion.

Jen looked down at her hands. She hadn't meant for that to come out the way it had. She was still struggling with the idea of a child in their lives. He had transitioned effortlessly to having the young girl move into his life, but she was struggling to come to terms. Gibbs watched her face waiting for her to answer.

"Things will calm down more as time passes," Jen replied finally looking up at him.

"Calm down?"

"Just give it time, Jethro," she said pursing her lips and shaking her head.

"Time, that's all anyone wants anymore," he said bitterly. He shook his head and spun around heading for the door. He exited the office before she could say another word and headed towards the lab to collect Nicole. When he got there Nicole knew something was wrong.

"Did I get you in trouble?" Nicole asked suddenly.

"No, come on though, we need to get going," Gibbs replied trying desperately to keep the emotions from seeping through. Nicole nodded and said her goodbyes to Abby, before bounding towards the door. Abby grabbed Gibbs arm as he was leaving.

"Everything all right?" she asked in a whisper.

"Time," Gibbs grumbled and pulled away.

TBC…


	5. A Long Night

**Disclaimer on chapter one. **

**AN: So I noticed on chapter four I put three..haha oops. Anyway, here is chapter five. Not quite sure where I want to take this one but I got a few ideas running through my head right now. All right let me know what you think. dark rolling sea.**

**Chapter Five: A Long Night**

Nicole sat quietly picking at her plate. The ride home from NCIS had been silent. She could feel the tension and anger radiating from Gibbs. The nerve to ask him what was wrong escaped her and she began to worry she had done something wrong. They had spoken minimally since they had returned home and even sitting together at the table it was quiet.

She looked up at Gibbs, watching his face, waiting for him to notice her. He continued to ignore her, but she could see he was inside his own head. She went back to picking at her dinner, not wanting to eat. Finally Gibbs looked up and saw her.

"Eat," he said after examining her plate full of food. Nicole looked at him with creased eyebrows, but then continued to push food around with her fork. Gibbs frowned, but nothing more was sad. He finished his plate and cleaned up the table, leaving Nicole sitting there to finish. She watched him walk from the kitchen without another word and then felt the tears building in her eyes. Something was wrong.

She heard the basement door open then close. After knowing that he was going to hide, she lost control of her tears. They streamed down her face as she stared at her plate, wondering if she had made him angry. Finally giving up on the food, she dumped what was left into the garbage before placing the plate in the sink. She made her way to the couch and curled up on one corner while she flipped the television on. The tears were slowing and then stopped, but the hurt was still festering inside.

Gibbs was sitting in front of his boat holding a plane sander. His mind was telling him this was a bad idea but he couldn't find the strength. He reached out and placed the plane against a plank of wood and held it still. His mind was tumbling with emotion, and he needed to clear his head and think things through. He started to move his arm, and when there was no pain he started to move more.

He let his thoughts run. His first thoughts were of the conversation he shared with Jen. It still made him angry that she had reacted the way she did. He still didn't understand what she had meant. He was also hurt that she stayed away for the night. He had thought she would make an appearance so they could continue their talk. But she hadn't and his anger was growing.

Things had been going well between them, or so he thought, but maybe he just wasn't cut out to be in a relationship. He didn't understand woman that was for sure, or maybe the only one that mattered was gone. He pushed on when the burn in his shoulder started, he was beyond caring.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts he missed the sound coming from upstairs. Even though Nicole was trying to muffle the sound with the television, her crying could still be heard, if he had been listening. He wasn't. He was consumed in the downfall. He had been so happy just ten weeks ago. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, and now everything seems to be crashing down around him.

His shoulder ached and burned but he pushed forward. Moving in a jerky rhythm, he continued to work on the boat, oblivious to what was happening. It was only when his arm went numb that he stopped what he was doing. He had yet to work his anger out and he threw the plane sander across the basement against the wall.

He watched the object hit the way and fall to the floor with a loud noise. He flexed his hand and elbow trying to ease feeling back into his arm. It was then that he heard Nicole upstairs. His heart broke as he turned to look at the door. He got to his feet, his arm curling into his body as it still lacked feeling, and made his way up the stairs. When he came through the door he saw her sitting on the couch with her knees tucked to her chest. There were tears coming down her face.

Gibbs paused with his hand still on the doorknob and stared. Nicole seemed to sense someone was in the room with her. She wiped at her face hurriedly and peeked over her shoulder. When she saw Gibbs, she took a shuddering breath and then tucked her head down on her knees, covering the rest with her arms.

Gibbs felt his heart shatter. The sight before him hurt more than anything else in his life possibly could. He walked over to the couch ignoring the numbness of his arm and sat down next to her. He draped his left arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. The silence still lingered, as she cried into his side, wrapping her arms around his midsection.

Gibbs stroked her back gently and waited. When she was finally back in control, she pulled back and leaned against the couch instead of him. Gibbs wasn't sure how to start so he waited. Nicole didn't break the silence and Gibbs' worry deepened. He closed his eyes and swallowed all of his own insecurities, before opening his eyes and looking at the fragile twelve-year-old nestled by his side.

"You ok, Kido?" Gibbs asked in a whisper feeling stupid for the question. It was the only thing that came to his mind though, so he went with it. Nicole sat with her knees up, silently staring at nothing. Gibbs waited.

"Did I do something wrong?" she finally asked still not looking up at him.

"Why do you think you did something wrong?"

"It was my idea and…"

"Kido, you didn't do anything wrong. Why do you think you did something wrong?"

"But it was my idea to go to headquarters and now…"

"What?"

"You and Jen are fighting," she said lowering her head.

"That's not your fault," Gibbs said drawing her closer with his left arm. His right was beginning to ache again, as the numbness wore off.

"She didn't even come over for dinner though."

"I know, but it's not your fault, ok?"

"I miss my mom," she said with a deep breath.

"Want to talk about it?" Gibbs asked. Nicole looked up at him and contemplated his offer.

"I still see her…all the blood."

"I know, Kido."

"It's all over. Then he comes. I can see his face now, and he's always grinning the grin he had when I was in the room. He comes after me with a gun and a knife. He wants to hurt me, Gibbs."

"Time will heal, Baby," Gibbs said holding her closer.

"Why is Jen mad at you?" she asked changing the subject.

"Honestly I'm not sure."

"So how do you know it's not my fault?"

"It will never be your fault, Kido. If she's mad at me, she's mad at me and it's my fault. You understand?"

Nicole nodded but still didn't feel reassured. She knew that there was something there, that their showing up at headquarters had caused an argument between Gibbs and Jen. She also knew that Gibbs was not going to talk about it with her. With the time spent with him under her belt, she learned not to push him.

They spent the rest of the evening watching a movie, before Gibbs told Nicole it was time for bed. She said her goodnights and went up to her room, leaving Gibbs to sit and contemplate on the couch. It was getting later and he felt his anger lessening towards Jen. In all honestly he was starting to miss her. He sighed and rubbed his face.

He was about to give up on the night and go to bed when he heard a soft knock on his door. He knew that it was meant to only garner his attention if he was on the main floor and close to the door. Who ever was knocking didn't want to announce their presence if no one was close enough to hear it.

He got to his feet and walked slowly to the door. There was no second knock. He opened the door and looked out to find Jen standing on his porch, looking over the railing. He stepped outside and closed the front door behind him, his arms coming around him to protect from the chill. Jen still didn't say anything, and Gibbs stopped a foot from her waiting. When she still didn't say anything he felt the annoyance building in his chest again.

"You came for a reason," he said flatly. He kept his manor professional and his eyes empty. She turned and looked at him briefly before turning back to the yard.

"Couldn't sleep," she mumbled shaking her head.

"That's all you got to say?"

His tone caught her attention and made her turn around and face him. She leaned against the railing and crossed her arms over her chest. She could tell he was defensive. Things were still stiff between them and he wondered why she had come.

"What do you want?" Gibbs asked taking a seat in a chair. Jen watched him, but still didn't answer him. "Christ, Jen, what is this?"

She could tell he was getting angry and she didn't know why she was upsetting him. She just couldn't bring herself around to talk to him; even though that was the reason she had come over. She picked at the railing while she thought about why she was there. She looked back at him while he waited.

"I think we need to talk," Jen finally said. Gibbs gave her a look that made her look away. She finally brought her attention back to him. "Things are difficult, Jethro."

"Difficult?"

"It's just going to take some time getting used to everything."

"Used to what?"

"I'm not used to being around a child, Jethro," she replied, the words tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop them. Gibbs looked away. The choice was simple enough for him if she couldn't get used to the idea. He would take Nicole into his life, there was no other way.

"Maybe this won't work then," Gibbs replied standing up. "We're a package deal, Jen. Can't have me without her."

He headed towards the front door with a stone face, but his heart was aching. He knew he shouldn't have opened his heart. It only invited pain, he had learned that over the years, but for some reason he thought that maybe it would be different this time. Apparently he was wrong and this was going to be like every other relationship in his life.

"Please," Jen said with a sigh. "Don't walk away."

"Why not? You're not talking to me, what's the point of sitting in the cold on the porch?"

"I don't want to fight."

"Then stop picking one," Gibbs grumbled at her and reached for the door. He went inside and straight to his bedroom, where he changed and slipped into bed. He never even checked to see if she left.

As he lay awake in bed, he let his true emotions free. He knew he loved Jen, and he knew she loved him. He didn't understand why it was so hard to be together. Things had seemed to be going well, but he knew now that she was obviously hiding something from him. The bed felt huge with just him in it and he knew he wouldn't sleep tonight.

He got up and looked in on Nicole. The child was asleep, curled up in a ball in the center of the bed. He watched her for a short while before heading back to his own room. In the middle of the night, still sleepless, he decided that maybe he was a bit cold tonight towards Jen. He decided he would go and talk to her tomorrow, once Nicole was at school.

TBC…


	6. Clearing the Air

**Disclaimer on chapter one.**

**AN: Here you go. Finally got some direction on this one. Should prove interesting...or at least I hope! Anyway, here is chapter six and I got seven in the works! Tell me what you think. dark rolling sea.**

**Chapter Six: Clearing the Air**

Gibbs pushed himself to be in a better mood that next morning than he truly was. He didn't want Nicole to feel his burdens; she had enough on her plate. He fixed her breakfast and then disappeared for a while, as she finished and got dressed. He was down with the boat, working slowly, noticing the intense ache in his shoulder. He checked the clock and noticed it was time to get going, so he made his way back up the stairs. He was greeted by Nicole, who wore a scowl on her face.

"What?" he asked cautiously.

"You are _not_ supposed to work on your boat," Nicole said poking an accusatory finger in his direction. Gibbs grinned and put his hands in the air, lightly flinching as his shoulder grabbed. Nicole noticed the grimace and shook her head.

"That's why, Gibbs. You're not ready," she said sounding more like the parent. Gibbs lowered his hands and sighed. He looked away, unable to make her understand _why_ he _had_ to work on his boat.

"I'm fine," Gibbs said with a forced smile. Nicole looked down. "Come on you have school."

Gibbs walked over and grabbed his keys and followed Nicole out the door. The ride was stuffy and silent. Nicole was worried and Gibbs could tell, but he didn't have the strength to smooth it out this morning. He knew he should say something, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. They finally arrived at the school and Nicole jumped out wordlessly. She was shutting the door when she stopped and stuck her head back in.

"I'm not mad at you," she said simply before shutting the door and walking away. Gibbs stared after her a while, feeling the tears building in his eyes. He swallowed them back and wondered when he had become such a screw-up. He didn't remember it being this hard before. He took in a deep breath and left the school.

After his session with Reed Donahue, he drove himself to NCIS headquarters. His session with Reed had been…sticky. Reed and noticed the soreness and resistance his shoulder was putting up. After a grilling interrogation, in which Gibbs couldn't help but smile, Reed had extracted Gibbs' activities from the night before and this morning. The lecture was brief but stern about the dangers of pushing to hard to fast. Gibbs promised to take it easy.

Once inside the building, he made his way up to Jen's office. He was slightly hesitant before he approached Cynthia's desk. He stopped, took a deep breath, and looked down at the director's assistant. She smiled up at him.

"She in?" he asked.

"You're actually asking that?" Cynthia asked with a smile, drawing a grin from Gibbs. "Generally I'm yelling at you not to barge in."

"Well, sometimes it's better to be announced," Gibbs commented quietly.

"Troubles?"

Gibbs simply smiled then lifted his chin at the door. Cynthia tilted her head to the side, before she picked up her phone. She looked back at Gibbs.

"Let me see if she's available."

"Thanks."

After a brief conversation, Cynthia told Gibbs he could go in. He nodded slowly, before walking into Jen's office. Once inside, he slowly slipped the door closed, avoiding making eye contact with her. She watched him wondering what he wanted. She was still harboring the feelings from the night before, but also hoping that they could move past their argument.

"I was thinking last night," Gibbs started still not looking up at her. "And concluded that maybe we're not being as open and honest with each other as we think we are."

He finally looked up at her, just in time to catch her drop her eyes from him. Bingo. He knew now he was right. She was hiding something from him. He closed the gap between them and stopped just in front of her. He put a finger to her chin slowly lifting it so that she looked at him.

"I know that things have been difficult to deal with. I know I've been difficult to deal with. This," he continued waving his left hand at his right shoulder, "has taken its toll on me. I realize that. But it has seriously changed my life. And you and Nicole…I know it's all so sudden."

Jen smiled at him and pulled back a step and sat on the edge of her desk. He stayed where he was, afraid to close the gap again. He waited for her answer, wondering if she was going to simply stare at him. He felt the first pang of nerves in his gut and wanted to slap himself.

"I should have talked to you about it. It's not your fault, Jethro," she offered. He nodded. "I'm just not used to being around children. I mean you…it seems effortless for you."

"It's not," he said.

"She just responds to you. I don't…"

"She responds to you too, Jen," Gibbs replied. Jen nodded once, but not truly believing him.

"I just feel the third wheel sometimes," she whispered to him.

Gibbs didn't reply. He simply stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. After a while she pulled back so she could look at him. He smiled at her and leaned down, kissing her gently.

"Never," he replied with a smile. Jen nodded. "I know this will take time, but now that I know about it, we can work through it together."

"I hope so."

"Maybe you should talk to Nicole. Find out what she thinks."

"What if she doesn't like me?"

"Not a chance," Gibbs said with a grin.

There was a knock on the door and Gibbs stepped back and stood next to Jen, as she pushed herself up from the desk. She took a deep breath and locked back into professional mode, before she beckoned the person knocking to enter. The door opened and DiNozzo came in with an apologetic smile on his face.

"Sorry for the interruption, Director," DiNozzo said walking in the room and closing the door.

"What is it, Special Agent DiNozzo?" she asked. Gibbs stood with his arms folded over his chest waiting as well. Tony's eyes went from Jen to Gibbs and back to Jen again.

"We just got a call on a missing Marine. He didn't show up to his post today."

"Ok, why are you bringing it to me?" Jen asked. Tony looked at the folder in his hands and handed it over to Jen.

"I received those in an email from the MP's on base."

Jen opened the picture and started to look through the printed images. She looked up at DiNozzo with shock. Gibbs took the folder and looked it over. After the first three images he looked up at DiNozzo.

"Those are his three children and his wife. Annabel was fourteen, Colby was thirteen, and Michael was ten. His wife was Marie Chamberlain."

"This happened at the base housing?"

"Yes. When the Marine failed to report to his post, they sent someone to look for him. Once on the scene they couldn't get an answer at the door. And after asking neighbors, determined that the family either left in the middle of the night or something was wrong. No one had seen them leave that morning."

"No sign of the Marine?"

"No. They haven't found any sign of Colonel Jeffrey Chamberlain. He's not in the house and there is no sign of his body. The house was ransacked, and it's hard to tell if something is missing."

"Take your team and get on it," Jen said. DiNozzo nodded reaching for the folder. Gibbs hesitated a moment before handing it back to him. They both watched DiNozzo leave before turning towards each other. Jen could see in his eyes that he wanted to be working the case with his team.

"It's my team," Gibbs finally said drawing a smile from Jen.

"Mere slip of the tongue, Jethro," she replied with a laugh. Gibbs returned the smile and sat in the chair in front of her desk.

"When are you going to let me come back?" he asked.

"Soon."

"You keep saying that. That's not an answer it's a deflection."

"I can't put a time on it."

"Why not?"

"There are a lot of factors that are involved, Jethro."

Gibbs sat sullen in the chair. He wanted to get back in the saddle, to work with the team again. Run with cases, and bring in the bad guy. It was his calling, he was good at it. He missed it severely. They were both quiet for a while before Jen spoke again.

"If I do let you come back to work, what about Nicole?"

"What about her?"

"What are you going to do when you're working?"

"She'll be fine. Besides she can catch the bus a block from the school and get off in front of the building. Likewise in the morning."

"So you plan on the two of you moving in at headquarters?"

"I didn't say that. It would just be easier and you know Nicole won't mind. Besides she might even prove useful around here."

"You mean give her a job."

Gibbs shrugged and checked his watch. It was nearing the time for him to pick Nicole up. He got up from the chair and stood a moment in front of Jen before smiling.

"Coming for dinner tonight?" he finally asked.

"Yes," Jen said with a smile. Gibbs nodded and then made his way out of her office, to the car, and towards Nicole's school. His mood had brightened immensely since the morning, as he waited for Nicole to come to the car. When she got in, she noticed immediately something was different.

"Did they let you come back to work or something?" she asked. Gibbs shot her a look before smiling.

"Not yet, but probably soon."

"You talked with Jen."

"Yes I did."

"And?"

"And things are clearer and better now," Gibbs offered as he maneuvered the car into traffic. The ride home was done in quiet, but not stuffy like the morning. Nicole knew that something good had happened today and she hoped it calmed everything down.

TBC…


	7. The Crime Scene

**Disclaimer on chapter one.**

**AN: Here we go again! Details of the crime scene for the new case. More coming soon I promise. I got a line on this story now and it should start to flow but no promises. Have at it and remeber to tell me what you thought. dark rolling sea.**

**Chapter Seven: The Crime Scene**

Tony pulled the truck into the driveway at the Colonel's home a little more than an hour and a half after leaving headquarters. The drive to Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland had been done in relative silence. Tony was at the wheel with Ziva sandwiched between him and McGee, while Bariston rode in the back. Ducky and Palmer had beaten them to the crime scene, as Tony had dispatched them before he went to talk to the director.

They piled out of the truck and each took an evidence kit with them, as they made their way towards the house. Tony stopped and scanned the neighborhood, noticing the gawkers and bystanders lazily making their way past the fiasco in front of the Chamberlain home. He took in faces, trying to access if any were out of place. He made a note to have a local look for unfamiliar faces.

He was the last one inside as Ziva and McGee had gone to the bodies, while Bariston looked around the property. Tony told the new agent to check around the back of the house, before he walked through the door and stopped. He took in the scene before him and let out a sigh. It was always tough when kids were victims. Ducky was kneeling down beside one of the boys while Palmer was on the other side of the mother.

The bodies had been dragged to the center of the living room. The couch apparently pushed out of the way to make room. There was what looked like sleeping bags under the bodies, protecting the dark blue carpeting that blanketed the floor. The three children were laying side-by-side with the mother lying parallel to them across the top. Her arm was draped stiffly over the younger boy. The girl was laying face down while the other three were face up. He noticed the trails of blood leading down a hallway, starting at the bodies. They had obviously not been murdered here. He walked to Ducky and stopped.

"Sad day," Ducky mumbled as he let out a sigh and stood up. "Such a tragedy when the young are taken prematurely."

"What's the first look reveal, Ducky?" Tony asked as he stared at the bodies.

"Gun shot wounds all around, I'm afraid. Looks like the wife was first to go, most likely by hours. My guess is that she was dead yesterday morning."

"Yesterday morning?" Tony asked in disbelief. "The Colonel wasn't reported missing until this morning."

"Indeed. Seems that the young girl was next to go and then in order down the line there. Younger boy, then older boy. From the looks of it, only one gave a fight. The older boy has some defensive wounds and was shot more times than the others."

"He didn't want to die."

"I suspect none of the _wanted_ to die, Anthony," Ducky replied.

"I suppose that's true," Tony answered while looking around. "They were put in here. Why?"

"That's something for you to determine. My job here is done. I'll get the bodies back to NCIS so we can begin autopsy. But I'm quite certain cause of death is GSW for all four victims. Most certainly instantaneous for the first three, with the older boy fighting for a short period."

Without another word, Tony walked around the bodies and followed the trail of blood. The first deviation was into the kitchen. He stepped over the trail and entered the room scanning around. There was a pool of blood drying on the linoleum floor slightly under the kitchen table. The blood track led from that pool to the hallway. It was obvious that someone had ransacked the house, but he was almost certain it had been done after the killings. He stopped short as he saw Ziva snapping a photo. Once she was finished, she brought the camera down and let it hang loosely around her neck.

"What do you think?" Tony asked her.

"Gruesome," Ziva replied with a shake of her head.

"First body was killed here?"

"I'd say Mother was killed her. Size of the blood trail would suggest an adult."

"Why dragged to the living room?"

"That I'm not sure of. But I think they were in the way of the searching that took place after the killings. But my question is: where is the Colonel."

"Ducky mentioned that the Colonel's wife was most likely murdered first and as early as yesterday morning."

"Was the Colonel at work yesterday morning?"

Tony's shoulders rose and fell emphatically as he looked around. They had yet to talk to the office the Colonel worked for. They were both silent as they studied what was around them. Ziva went back to snapping photos and collecting evidence, so Tony decided to continue along the blood trail.

He went back to the hallway and followed it to the next deviation. This one was slightly smaller in size than the path leading into the kitchen. The door that it seeped underneath was open only slightly ajar. Tony pushed gently with his gloved hand and the door swung inward with a slight creaking. He gazed at the room taking in the décor. It was definitely a teenager's room, most likely female.

Once inside he saw where the body, he presumed the Colonel's daughter, had been killed. There was a large puddle of dried blood in the middle of the room, with the track leading back to the living room protruding from it. The walls were done in a soft pink, covered almost entirely in posters. He recognized many recent movies, and current popular bands in the posters. There was a desk that had been torn apart on the far side of the room. The computer was flashing pictures of Annabel and her friends across the black background of the screen.

The dresser had been opened and gone through, clothes strewn all over the floor, some soaking up some of the spilled blood. Along the other wall was the teenager's bed, still made. The headboard was adored with stuffed creatures, surrounding a pillow. Tony wondered why someone would search this room, and what had been so important that they find. Then he wondered if they had found what they were looking for.

His thoughts were interrupted as McGee came in the door. He placed his evidence kit down on the floor and picked up the camera. He started snapping pictures of the room and Tony stepped aside, still looking around wondering what had happened.

"Someone wanted something bad," McGee said as he took another picture.

"Would appear that way," Tony replied absently.

"Two other bedrooms back there are the same way. The boys seemed to share one and then the adults."

"Any ideas?"

"Not until we find out what the Colonel was into."

"Ducky thinks the mother was killed as early as yesterday morning."

"But the absentee wasn't reported till this morning."

"Guess we need to find out where the Colonel was yesterday and why this wasn't reported."

McGee nodded slowly before returning to work. Tony walked out and followed the path down the hallway further. The path narrowed and then deviated left to another room. This one was most likely the room the two boys shared. It was done up in different shades of blue, with bunk beds lining the far wall. Tony was quickly erasing robbery gone wrong from this scene as each room still contained various expensive electronic devices. Each room still contained TV and DVD players, along with computers. This room also contained a Play Station 2 and an X Box.

There was a single pool of blood in this room, congealing on the bottom bunk. Tony let out a sigh as he traced the bloody drag marks to the hallway. It would have been the younger boy. The room had a haunting feeling to it and Tony felt the urge to move on. He walked back into the hallway and back towards the living room.

He had placed the initial killing spots of three of the four victims. He still hadn't found the place where the older boy had been killed. His only thought was that he had been gunned down in someone else's blood smear and his own pool had been hidden in the mix of liquid. He looked at the now vacant sleeping bags. Ducky and Palmer had removed the bodies now and were on their way back to DC. He squatted down and examined the blood pools. It would seem that the bodies were dead before they were placed in the middle of the living room. Tony still couldn't figure out why they had been dragged and placed in this manner. He looked over the rest of the living room before he rose to his feet. Bariston walked in through the front door at that moment.

"Find anything outside?" Tony asked.

"Not much, I'm afraid. I found finger prints and the like on lawn furniture and a swing set but my guess is that it will all come back to family. There was a track in the back but it could also be a natural occurrence," Bariston said with a slight shrug.

"Abby will have to determine that," Tony replied.

"Were the bodies on those?" Bariston asked pointing towards the sleeping bags.

"Yes."

"Dragged from somewhere else?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I guess that's something we'll have to figure out now isn't it?" Tony replied with a nod. Bariston nodded quickly and ducked his head. "Help McGee and Ziva."

"Where are you going?"

"To talk to some people," Tony answered before ducking out the front door. He was immediately greeted by an officer. Tony glanced at the man's shoulders and deducted from the silver eagle he was another Colonel in the Marines.

"I'm Colonel Michael Haggerty," the man said while extending a hand. Tony shook it before he answered.

"Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS. Do you work with Colonel Jeffrey Chamberlain?"

"I was coming to find you. And yes I work with Jeffrey."

"Was the Colonel at work yesterday?" Tony asked as if it was no consequence of what the answer was.

"No. He had asked for a personal leave that day."

"Did he give a reason?"

"Yes, he did. But after him taking a personal leave yesterday and not showing up today we, well we grew suspicious."

"What was his reason for personal leave?"

"He said that his son had turned ten last week but we were so wrapped up in a project that he wasn't able to spend the time he wanted to with his family to celebrate it."

"Did they have anything planned?"

"Not that I know of. It was a last minute request that I granted because he looked like he needed a day off."

"How so?"

"He just looked a little worn down. We've been pushing hard the last three months, working ungodly hours. We've been working on getting a new electronic warfare system ready, and the deadline for acquiring a working test subject was quickly approaching."

"How close to this operation was Colonel Chamberlain?"

"Jeffrey was in charge. He was overseeing the entire operation making sure things ran on schedule."

"Why such grueling hours?"

"We fell behind when we ran into a snag in the electronic tracking system of the weapon. There were a few glitches and malfunctions in the programming that we didn't foresee and it knocked us behind. But Jeffrey and his staff worked diligently to bring us back on schedule."

"What kind of weapon systems was this?"

"NAVAIR is a group of bases and sights that work together to develop most of the products and programs used by the Navy and Marine Corp air power. This particular weapons system was for fighter jets. We are the second to final stage in the project. When we finish with our part it will go to Jacksonville, Florida for final processing and testing."

"What level of security was on this project?"

"Highest. Only those members of the team were allowed the info. Do you think the project had something to do with this terrible tragedy?"

"I'm not sure, Colonel Haggerty. But something happened in that house, and someone was looking for something."

"Looking for something?"

"The place was trashed but nothing of value was stolen. Did Colonel Chamberlain take his work home with him?"

"No, it was strictly not allowed. All work done on the project was done in the secure lab."

"And nothing is missing from the project?"

"Not that I'm aware of. I'll have someone check all data and programs immediately."

"Thank you."

"This is such a horrific event."

"That it is," Tony replied softly. "Thank you for your time, Colonel Haggerty."

"Anytime, my office is open to you investigation."

"Thank you," Tony replied with a nod before he headed back inside. Ziva, McGee, and Bariston were finishing up their work and carrying their evidence to the truck. He took one last look around and sighed. He then made his way to the truck while the other three piled in. The drive back to NCIS was done in silence as they all thought about what had taken place in Patuxent River.

TBC…


	8. Dinner

**Disclaimer on chapter one.**

**Chapter Eight: Dinner**

Gibbs went about making dinner for the night, while Nicole sat at the table and laughed. They had taken up a light atmosphere since he had picked her up at school. Not that he was complaining. It was the simple times that Gibbs relished in his new found life. As they talked Gibbs realized that Nicole wasn't focusing on her tragic past, but on being a kid in the here and now. She was talking like any other normal twelve-year-old. He smiled as he tended to the pasta he was making.

She was telling him about her day at school and he was absently listening, absorbing without paying attention, while he dashed spices into his dish. She babbled about her new friends, and her new teachers, as if nothing had happened just those short few months ago. It made him happy deep down to know that there was a slight semblance of normalness returning to her life.

The food was almost ready now, and they were only one person shy of their dinner party. Gibbs removed the food items from the stove and placed them on hot mats in the middle of the table. Nicole then got the place settings in order, before going to the fridge for the milk. Gibbs poured himself a cup of coffee and set it in front of his plate. They both turned when they heard the door open and Nicole looked back at Gibbs and smiled.

Jen came into the kitchen shortly, sniffing the air expectantly. Nicole and Gibbs watched as she stopped in the doorway. Nicole was slightly hesitant as she looked from Gibbs to Jen and back again. Gibbs stood sternly for a moment before he walked up to Jen giving her a kiss. Nicole sat down at her seat. The other two soon joined her and dinner began.

The talk surrounding dinner was kept away from NCIS topics. Jen strategically steered Gibbs away each time he hinted at the new case his team had taken. When he pushed a third time Jen gave him a pointed look, glanced at Nicole, then back at him again. He dropped his eyes.

"She doesn't want to talk about it in front of me," Nicole said with a wide smile. Gibbs brought his eyes up and raised his eyebrows. "Well that's what that look meant."

"I suppose so," Gibbs said with a chuckle. Jen smiled and nodded.

"It's not appropriate dinner talk," Jen said.

"I suppose not in this family," Gibbs replied without thinking. The words hit all three of them as soon as they were out in the air and a silence enveloped them, as each one contemplated what that meant. Nicole started to worry as she looked from Jen's face to Gibbs. Why didn't anyone say anything?

Then a smile broke across Jen's lips as she took another mouthful of pasta. Gibbs face cracked into a grin as he looked at Nicole. The girl immediately let out the breath she had been holding and smiled in return. They had all silently agreed that they were a family. Nicole got the idea then to ask Gibbs to invite the rest of the family for dinner some night. She kept it to herself for the moment, but made note in her head to bring it up again soon.

The rest of dinner went smoothly with the conversation remaining on their personal aspects of life. Nicole recounted what she was learning in science, Gibbs told them the progress of his therapy, garnering a look from Jen, while Jen told them of the things DiNozzo was doing while pretending he was Gibbs.

Gibbs shook his head and made note to smack DiNozzo on the back of the head next time he came across the younger agent. Finally they were finished eating. After the dishes were done up and the table cleaned, Nicole retired to the living room to watch some television before bed. Gibbs sat down at the table and stared into his half finished cup of coffee. Jen came up behind him and rested her hands gently on his shoulders.

"Staring instead of drinking. Either the coffee tastes like diesel fuel or something's on your mind," Jen said leaning down sliding her arms down to link in front of his chest. He nodded slowly.

"Coffee's good," he offered as explanation.

"What's on your mind, Jethro?"

"I'm ready to go back to work," he said softly.

"I made some inquiries today," Jen replied. Gibbs looked up at her with curious eyes.

"About?"

"I talked to a nice young man named Reed today."

Gibbs couldn't stop the smile that passed over his lips. He looked back down at his coffee cup. "Ah yes. Young Mr. Reed."

"He agrees with you. But with some restrictions."

"Of course," Gibbs grumbled.

"It's for your own safety, Jethro."

"I think I know when I'm putting my safety in jeop…"

"Like last night?"

Gibbs head snapped up as he tilted in her hold. Her arms broke as he gave her a look before he shook his head slowly. He thought about his answer before he made it public.

"Last night was extenuating circumstances."

"How so?"

"Look, I needed…something," Gibbs said failing to come up with putting his feelings into words. Jen seemed to grasp his difficulty and nodded sympathetically. She then began to massage his shoulders.

"I'm letting you come back to work, Jethro."

"What's the case Tony took today?" Gibbs asked immediately trying to bring himself up to date on what his team was working on. Jen couldn't suppress the smile as she sat down next to him.

"No wading in?"

"Nope. Only way is to jump into the deep end."

"DiNozzo and _your_ team," she emphasized bringing a smile to Gibbs' face, "are working the murder of a Colonel Jeffrey Chamberlain's family."

"What about the Colonel?"

"AWOL at the moment."

"Suspect?"

"For now until we can rule it out. We have no idea of his whereabouts. The family was slaughtered in the house."

"What was the Colonel doing?"

"He worked for NAVAIR in Patuxent River. He was head man on a new electronic warfare system for fighter jets."

"Anything missing?"

"DiNozzo didn't know yet. House was ransacked."

"What about the project? Any problems, disruptions?"

"Several apparently. Threw them off schedule and the team had been rigorously working almost round the clock for a while to catch back up."

"What sort or problem?"

"Software glitches and malfunctions according to Colonel Michael Haggerty."

Gibbs nodded. They continued to discuss the case as Jen told Gibbs as much as she knew. He would grill DiNozzo in the morning. Once they had finished discussing the case Gibbs sat with his eyes closed thinking.

"Did you tell DiNozzo I'm coming back?"

"No," Jen replied with a small smile tugging across her lips. Gibbs opened his eyes and grinned.

They were silent then, just sitting staring. Gibbs reached over and took Jen's hand. They could hear the background noise of the TV and Nicole's laughter at something on the screen. Gibbs looked over Jen's shoulder towards the doorway with a warm smile and sparkle to his eye.

Jen stood and pulled Gibbs with her. She then headed into the living room with him tailing behind. She slid onto the couch next to Nicole with a smile as the girl scooted a little to make room. Gibbs tilted his head to the side and watched, a warm smile flashing over his face. He then took a spot on the other side of Nicole. The twelve year old leaned against him and curled her feet up underneath her body. Gibbs stretched his arm along the back of the couch and laid it behind Jen.

"You should have the team over for dinner," Nicole said with her attention still on the screen. Gibbs looked down at the child using him as a pillow.

"Why?" he asked incredulously. Jen laughed, earning a look from Gibbs. She laughed harder. Nicole began to giggle.

"Because!"

"That's not an answer."

"Come on, Gibbs. It'd be fun. You could have Tony and Ziva and McGee over, and don't forget Abby and Ducky too."

"Why not invite the new kid what ever his name is."

"Yeah that'd be cool too."

"Where do you come up with these ideas?"

"What will it hurt?"

"I agree with Nicole," Jen added.

"Who asked you?" Gibbs asked mocking frustration.

"Jen what do you think? There I did," Nicole replied with a smile.

"Smartass."

"Thanks, and I think my brain is even smarter," Nicole replied before sticking her tongue out at Gibbs.

He smiled down at her, before he started to tickle her. She burst into laughter as she wiggled and squirmed to break free. Finally Gibbs relented and the girl gasped for air while trying to stifle her giggles. She then looked up at Gibbs.

"So does that mean yes?"

"I never said that," Gibbs replied.

"I'll invite them over for the weekend," Jen replied turning her attention back to the television.

"Hey, whose house is this anyway?"

"Ours," Nicole replied with a giggle. "Besides you're out numbered two to one."

"Women," Gibbs grumbled as he turned to the television. Nicole and Jen both laughed. They spent the next hour in silence watching television before Nicole was sent off to bed. She said her goodnights then was behind a closed door.

Jen snuggled into Gibbs side as he brought an arm down around her. They sat for a few moments in the quiet, enjoying the contact. Gibbs felt the tension and stress he had battled the day before start to ease and release and he hoped that the rough patch that had caused it was behind them.

"You really should invite the team," Jen said as she listened to his heart beat. He twisted his head and looked down at her.

"You're not letting this drop?"

"Nope," Jen replied stifling a yawn. Gibbs smiled and shook his head. "Well?"

"Fine. Invite them for a dinner party," Gibbs grumbled waving his hand idly in the air. Jen smiled as her eyes drifted shut.

"Tomorrow I will," she whispered. Gibbs watched as she sunk into a deeper state of sleep and then nudged her awake. She looked at him with hooded eyes.

"I am not carrying you up to the bed. You fall asleep down here, you stay down here."

"So romantic," she said with a sigh and then got up from the couch.

"I try," Gibbs replied coming up behind her. They went up the stairs to his bedroom where they were both asleep within minutes.

TBC…


	9. Back in the Saddle

**Disclaimer on chapter one.**

**AN: Oh here we go again. Ok so I finally got an idea for this chapter. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long, but I have a 'deadline' on an original work so I may cut out and work on that one instead. Don't worry I'll keep this one smoldering! I have ideas for GUTH as well so hopefully the next part will be up shortly! Ok on to this chapter…enjoy and let me know. So I'm frustrated with this site, but anyway, the only thing I could get to take between POVs was the bolded 0...sorry...dark rolling sea.  
**

**Chapter Nine: Back in the Saddle**

He sat at the computer finishing the program. He had been pushing so hard for the last three months to bring it back on schedule. He had tried to explain the delays, but they wouldn't listen to him. Jeffrey had pushed his team to the limit to get the system operational. Time was life in this deal, at least for him. Finally they had caught up. They were back on schedule, and his superiors at NAVAIR couldn't have been happier.

Then he disappeared. He knew they must be frantically searching for him, wondering why he vanished the way he did. Jeffrey pushed that thought from his mind; he couldn't worry about such trivial things at the moment. He continued to monitor the code in front of him, making slight adjustments and corrections as he went. This was the worst part, fixing the software to make it run smoothly. Each line of code must be quadruple checked and tested to make sure it was absolutely correct.

This was supposed to be Jacksonville's part of the process. The Navy wanted fresh eyes on it to catch errors. The program had progressed that way, with Patuxent River being the second to last stop. But now, Jeffrey was the tester. It was on him to find and correct all errors and make the program functional. He no longer had a crew to work with, it was his sole responsibility. He knew they were watching him, it made him nervous.

He tried to focus on the screen in front of him but his gut churned and fluttered. He knew they were not happy with his performance so far. He was lagging behind, but it wasn't his fault. The major glitch his team had pushed so hard to fix was causing him to have to alter major strands of code to communicate properly. The time frame he had promised he could finish the job was quickly approaching the end, and he was far behind schedule.

**00000000000000000000000**

Two men stood behind the mirror that was on the wall of the room, Colonel Jeffrey Chamberlain was in. They were in suits, one was in a three piece Navy blue Armani, the other in a black three piece Versace; both were custom fitted. Armani was short and overweight, displaying a large girth in his midsection. He had jowls of fat hanging from his throat. His eyes were a dull green, lacking in luster. His hair was thinning, barely covering his large head. Versace was the opposite. His frame was tall and lean, standing almost six foot four. His body was highly muscled from years of sculpting and toning. His black hair was cut clean and close cropped. He always appeared clean cut and freshly shaved. His eyes were a dull gray, almost colorless. Armani turned to Versace with a grimace on his face.

"This is taking too long," he said through gritted teeth. Versace turned his head slightly. He leveled cool eyes at the man standing next to him and let out an annoyed sigh.

"It will all come together in time. A minor overage of time will not kill us," he said with no emotion.

"This is already pressing us. We need that program to finish," Armani said with frustration.

"The program will get finished, and we will have what we want," Versace said in a bored tone before turning back to the one-way-mirror. We watched Colonel Chamberlain plug away in front of the computer screen. His nervous partner was half right, this was taking longer than desired to finish, but unlike the other man, he was quite confident in their ability to finish the job. Chamberlain would come through. He checked his watch absently as the minutes filed away. He had a lot tied into this, with any luck, and all went as planned, he would be able to disappear from public view for good after he finished the transaction.

"I still don't like all these problems," Armani grumbled again. Versace sighed in exasperation at his partner's antics.

"Have faith," Versace said in irritation before folding his arms over his chest. The incessant nagging and bickering by his partner was definitely starting to wear on his patience. Chamberlain continued in the room, his eyes flying over the foreign language on the screen, his fingers manipulating the keys to fix the problems.

"I just don't feel it's…"

"I know your feelings," Versace grumbled in frustration. "Enough already."

They stood in silence now as they observed the man at the computer. Their buyer was impatient that was sure; Versace had been calming him down for a number of weeks. Everyone was uptight over the unforeseen hiccup that had plagued the NAVAIR team in the first place. When Chamberlain had contacted him about the problem Versace had felt his stomach sour.

It had almost all come undone in a single phone call. Versace was able to get Chamberlain back on track, and made sure the Colonel knew the consequences. Now they were in a secure location, surrounded by multiple security measures, as the final stages were almost complete. They only had to hold out for another week, and then the program would be fully operational and ready for their buyer. Another week, Versace thought, as he looked at Armani. His stomach tightened, another week.

His partner disgusted him, but he needed his financial backing to set up the safe house they were using now. He had his own money, but he didn't want anything to be traceable back to him. It gave him a small comfort to know that if anyone managed to trace the money, Armani would be the end of the line. He was a ghost in this operation, but he reaped the most benefit.

He sighed again as the scene before him was growing tiresome. He could hear his partner's labored breathing and it was fraying his nerves again. A nap, he thought, the perfect thing to calm me once again. He turned slightly to look at Armani before he spoke to the man like a child.

"I'm taking my leave for a while. Stay out of Colonel Chamberlain's way. I don't want you in that room," Versace said, a hint of irritation in his voice, as his finger pointed out towards the Colonel. Armani glared at Versace, hearing the condensation saturating his partner's voice. Versace gave him a stern look a parent would give to a small child who was testing their boundaries. Armani huffed insulted, but then wrapped his arms defensively around his chest.

"I'm not a child," he mumbled. Versace felt a headache coming. He didn't have the strength of will to deal with Armani at the moment. He nodded once slowly then turned on his foot and walked briskly from the observation room. He stopped at the refrigerator and pulled a bottle of water out. He downed most of it in one long pull, before tightening the lid and tossing it aside. He sighed as he felt the twinge of exhaustion hovering over him. Giving into the impulse, he stretched out on the couch in his office and was soon in a fitful sleep.

**000000000000000000**

Gibbs smiled as Nicole got on the bus to head for school. He then turned and made his way back to NCIS, which was just down the block. He had a rare smile on his face as he came off the elevator to walked to his desk. Tony had his back to him talking with Ziva. The perfect opportunity to strike.

"Ompf," Tony said as is head snapped forward slightly. Ziva couldn't resist the smile that pulled at her lips.

"Boss?" Tony asked surprised.

"Report on the case," Gibbs said as he swung around his desk and took up residence. His team stared at him blankly, shocked by his sudden return. Gibbs looked down briefly, letting out a sigh, before he snapped his face up with hard eyes. "CASE, NOW!"

The three agents jumped and scrambled to find the information they needed to tell Gibbs. McGee recovered first and flipped a picture of Colonel Chamberlain up on the plasma screen. He then looked at the notes in front of him.

"Colonel Chamberlain's family was found yesterday, butchered in their home. The Colonel is still missing. He had taken a leave of absence the day before and no one has seen him since," McGee said all in one breath. Tony took over next.

"The Colonel gave the reason that his youngest son turned ten a couple weeks ago. He wanted time off to celebrate since they had been pushing so hard on the project they were working on he had missed it," Tony replied. Gibbs could tell Tony thought something was wrong with the reason.

"When was the son's birthday?" Gibbs asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Almost six months ago. It doesn't jibe with the story the Colonel relayed. Also the wife was killed sometime the morning before the victims were found," Tony answered.

"She was killed on his day off," Gibbs replied.

"That's what it looks like," Ziva broke in. "The children were then killed in the same time frame, a slight variation in hours."

"Motive?" Gibbs asked.

"I heard back from NAVAIR this morning. They are frantic," Tony replied.

"Why?" Gibbs asked, fearing there was something bigger involved now.

"The project that Colonel Chamberlain was working on has been tampered with," Tony continued. "They believe that all the files have been duplicated. And now the files they have are corrupted. They are nonfunctioning. The team is working to see if they can reverse the damage and salvage the project."

"What kind of project?" Gibbs asked.

"The Colonel and his team were working on an air defense system for fighter jets. The Navy was updating all their systems to newer technology. This was the second to last stop for the project before Jacksonville ran it through final debugging and testing," McGee answered.

Gibbs looked around then up at the picture on the plasma screen. He studied the eyes of the Marine Colonel that looked back at him. Something wasn't right. He looked at Tony.

"Evidence at the house?" he asked.

"We've combed through it. Looks like Chamberlain did it," Ziva said a sadness to her voice. Gibbs looked over at her before he looked back at the Colonel's picture.

"Again, motive?"

"Wanting to disappear after he stole the project. It's harder to disappear when you have a wife and three kids tagging along," Tony replied. "The bullets matched his service weapon, and the weapon was found in the house. He left it behind, it had been fired. His were the only prints on it. It didn't appear that he took much with him, maybe some clothes. There were a few holes in his wardrobe. But otherwise much of the house was in tact."

"The only thing we can't explain is the house was ransacked," Ziva offered.

"Done so it looked like someone else was looking for something?" McGee said as his shoulders rose and fell in a gentle shrug.

Gibbs rose from his chair and walked in front of the plasma screen. "What else do we have on the Colonel?"

"His record is squeaky clean. It's why he was chosen to head the team," Ziva replied.

"He's a computer programmer. He is one of the top programmers of the country," McGee added.

"Other family? History?" Gibbs probed.

"He was the youngest of three children. His parents are deceased, both within the last year. The oldest, a brother, is an aerospace engineer. The middle child, a sister, is married to a successful business man. Brother has four kids, sister two," Tony rambled off.

"Have you talked to the family?"

"On the list of things to do today, Boss," Tony replied sitting on the edge of his desk. Gibbs nodded. "Otherwise, we found he grew up in a small town, normal surroundings, seemingly happy family."

They were silent a moment before Gibbs went back to his desk. He was about to open his mouth to issues orders when he was effectively cut off. He hid the smile from public view, as a hard glare settled over his face.

"McGee check into the Colonel's past. Dig up what you can about his childhood; find someone that knew him as a kid. Ziva, you and I will talk with the family today. Let's get on the road so we can…" Tony said before he saw the glare on Gibbs' face. He cringed and stood from his perch on the edge of his desk. "Sorry, Boss."

"Don't apologize, DiNozzo, it's a sign of weakness," Gibbs replied. "McGee deep background on Colonel Chamberlain. Ziva find the family. Talk to them; get a feel for the Colonel. And DiNozzo?"

"Yeah, Boss?" Tony said with a swallow.

"Go with Ziva," Gibbs replied as he turned his attention to his computer. The team exchanged glances, smiles around, before they scrambled off to the tasks assigned for them. Gibbs looked up when he heard someone coming up in front of his desk.

"Back in the saddle?" Jen asked with a smile.

"Getting there," Gibbs replied before returning his attention to the computer screen. Jen looked at the picture of Chamberlain on the screen.

"You think he killed them?" she asked as her gaze returned to his face. He looked up at her and pondered her words.

"Too soon to tell, but the evidence suggests it," Gibbs replied. Jen nodded.

"Save time for lunch," Jen replied as she turned to head back to her office. Gibbs watched her walk away and smiled. This was their first real test to the relationship. His first day back on the job, their relationship would need to remain professional in the building. He tore his eyes from her retreating form and plunged back into the case at hand.

TBC…


	10. Family History

**Disclaimer on chapter one.**

**AN: Whoa! Look who finally wrote a chapter. Sorry bout the delay guys! My new work schedule has me getting up at 4:30 in the morning and working 6 am to 3 pm and then I'm just tired by the time I feel like writing...so I don't get much done, but I'm adjusting so I think chapters should be coming more often now! Plus I'm going to be on the road more and have free time when I'm doing nothing that I can utilize to write...anyway enough crap. Here is chapter ten...eleven already planned in my head, sorta, so should be coming soon. Hopefully some work on my other stories coming soon as well. On with it, tell me what you think! dark rolling sea.

* * *

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Chapter Ten: Family History

Tony sat behind the wheel of the car as Ziva glared out the windshield at the cars in front of them. Their flight had landed in Pittsburgh over an hour ago. They were nearing the city when they came upon the stopped traffic. Ziva slammed her closed fist against the dashboard for the fifth time. Tony glanced over at her annoyed.

"Keep that up and you're going to set off the airbag," Tony said with a sigh.

"This traffic is mind bounding," Ziva explained waving her hand around wildly.

"Boggling?" Tony asked with a yawn.

"What-ever!" Ziva replied closing her eyes.

Tony shrugged his shoulders as he leaned against the driver's side door. He watched the sitting cars in front of him. They were on their way to talk to Colonel Chamberlain's sister. She was living with her family in Shadyside, a burrow of Pittsburgh. After locating her, they had immediately booked a flight and called ahead.

After giving the sister the news, it was difficult to continue the conversation. Tony had been able to finally secure that she would remain home for the afternoon and he and Ziva had then promptly left to catch their flight. Tony sat up straighter as brake lights started to appear in front of him.

"Cars are turning back on," Tony said straining his neck to look ahead. Ziva slumped into her seat and crossed her arms over her chest.

"We had better move now."

Tony grinned as he shook his head at his partner, before he turned the ignition back on and shifted the car into gear. They started to slowly inch forward, moving no more than ten miles per hour and Ziva groaned from the seat next to him. Tony sighed as he drummed his fingers along the steering wheel and slowly inched his vehicle in line with the others.

"Relax, Ziva," Tony said. Ziva looked at him for a moment then looked out the side window of the door. They were both silent for the next twenty minutes as traffic started, slowly inched forward, then stopped again. Once they reached the front of the chaos, merging down into a single lane along the way, they saw the cause of all the mayhem. There had been a major four car accident. They both gawked out the window at the scene, mentally processing what they saw before they were past it. Tony refocused on the road ahead of him and soon they were zooming towards Shadyside.

They were finally in the city and headed towards their destination. It didn't take them long to reach the Colonel's sister's home. Pulling into the driveway, Tony and Ziva looked at the large brick two story home that sat stuck between two more that looked similar to it. They exited the vehicle and walked to the front door, where Tony knocked. They waited a moment before they heard footsteps coming to the door. It was opened and revealed a woman in her late thirties or early forties with dark brown hair, hanging loosely to the middle of her back. Her eyes were hazel, bloodshot, and rimmed with red. She wore a pair of gray sweat pants and a baby blue t-shirt.

"Mrs. Hawkins?" Tony asked.

"Yes," the woman replied with a hoarse voice. "But please call me Rachael."

Tony nodded once in agreement before he continued. "I'm Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, and this is Officer David. We're here from NCIS, I spoke with you on the phone earlier."

"Yes," she replied closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Please come in."

She stepped aside and finished opening the door so that Ziva and Tony could pass her. They walked into the dimly light room before taking two steps up onto the house itself. Rachael Hawkins followed them as they entered a brightly lit living room. The room was done in shades of brown, ranging from tan to burgundy. Rachael pointed to a couch and both Ziva and Tony took a seat.

Rachael sat softly into a recliner facing them, clasping her hands tightly in her lap as she stared at the floor. Tony waited a beat before he prompted her for information. He was about to ask his first question when Rachael suddenly looked up at him and spoke first.

"Did Jeffrey do this?" she asked as her voice barely held together. Tony looked at Ziva briefly before returning his gaze to Rachael.

"He is our number one suspect at the moment," Tony replied. Rachael let out a gasping sob as her hand flew to her mouth.

"I don't understand," she whispered.

"Can you tell us some about Jeffrey?" Ziva asked.

"He's my baby brother. He's three years younger than me, five years younger than Steven. Steven is our older brother. Jeffrey was a bright child, very happy. We lived…in a tough environment," Rachael began. Tony noticed the pain in her eyes as she recalled her childhood.

"How so?" he asked.

"Things were tough. It was…" Rachael began and stopped, dropping her eyes to the floor. Tony looked at Ziva. They exchanged looks before Rachael looked back up with fire in her eyes. The anger was evident as she continued to discuss her past. "My father was not exactly the best role model. We were very poor and didn't have much. My mother tried desperately to provide for us, but my father was a problem. He drank most of his pay check away, leaving us with very little. Finally my mother divorced him, I was seven, Jeffrey was four, and Steven was nine. We moved to a small town, away from my dad. My mom got two jobs, worked almost twenty hours a day and then slept whenever she wasn't working. We were young, but she couldn't afford a babysitter, so that was left to Steven and me.

"We did our best to keep Jeffrey from knowing what was happening. We did our best to keep him happy. And we thought we did a good job. He excelled at school, was always top of his class. Brilliant boy, he even skipped grades on two different occasions. He graduated at sixteen and went to college the next fall at Berkley.

"He double majored in computer programming and electrical engineering, accomplished both majors in just six semesters. He graduated at nineteen and we thought would continue on and get his doctorate but he came to Steven and me after graduation and told us he was joining the Marines. We were shocked to say the least, but he supported him.

"We were mostly shocked because Jeffrey was such a peaceful boy. He was never into any sports and preferred a book to a baseball. We never understood until we saw where he ended up in his career and he was happy."

"Meaning NAVAIR?" Ziva asked. Rachael looked up at her and a small sad smile crossed her lips before she continued.

"Yes, NAVAIR. Jeffrey had always loved writing program codes. And when the Marines offered him that position he jumped."

"When had he met his wife?" Ziva asked.

"He met Marie at Berkley. She was a freshman his final year. She was just a year younger and they hit it off. Marie was a sweet, simple girl from California. At first they had just been friends, the first semester they were nothing more, but things changed and they grew closer."

"What changed?" Tony asked.

"Our cousin died. Jeffrey didn't take it well. Our father showed up at the funeral drunk and things went…badly. It really hurt Jeffrey. Steven and I tried to console him and help him through the tragedy but he closed off to us. Marie was the one the reached him and brought him through. They were inseparable after that. It was true love if I've ever seen it. They are the perfect match," she replied before she realized how that sounded now. The tears welled up in her eyes once again as she covered her mouth once again and held back a sob.

"When did they get married?" Ziva asked.

"Shortly after Jeffrey graduated. She left school when he joined the Marines and went with him. Her family was furious but she didn't care. She just wanted to be with my brother. They had been married two years before Annabel was born. She was the light of his life. He made up to her what he missed with our father. There is only thirteen months between Annabel and Colby, and then three years between Mikey and Colby. Jeffrey moved around a bit to begin with in his career, but once he landed the job in Patuxent River he stayed. He got the supervisor role and was heading his own projects. I'd never seen him happier."

"Have you talked to him lately?" Tony asked.

"Not in the last couple months. We've both just been too busy," Rachael replied, the sorrow evident in her voice.

"The last time you spoke with him did you notice any stress in him? Anything out of the ordinary?" Ziva asked.

"Stress? Of course. He worked for the Marines on a highly sensitive project. He was behind schedule and pressed for time. There were all kinds of problems with the coding and of course Jeffrey being the person he is, he had to personally rework the errors. He wouldn't trust anyone else to do it right. It was just how he was. A workhorse. I think he got that from our mother, seeing what she did to support her family. It was all he knew."

"Did he show signs of a violent behavior as a child?" Tony asked.

"Jeffrey? No. Steven was the one in fights all the time. Mostly caused by our troubled childhood, and the stress of having to become a parent at nine. But Jeffrey never harmed a fly. He was so gentle and caring."

"Is there anything else in his past that would cause this kind of behavior?" Ziva continued.

"I have no idea what could have caused this," she said very defensively. "I'm not convinced that my brother even did this. I think you're looking at the wrong man. He would never harm his children or Marie."

"Thank you for your time," Ziva said as she rose from the couch. Tony pondered a moment before coming up beside Ziva as they headed for the door. They're next stop was the brother. They would have to drive back to the airport, return the rental and catch their next flight. Steven Chamberlain lived in Maine.

Once out of the house and into the car Ziva looked at Tony. Tony was concentrating on the driving when he felt her eyes and glanced at her. She pursed her lips and then cocked her head to the side as she formed her words in her mind.

"What?" Tony asked impatiently.

"Do you believe her?"

"She believes her brother didn't do it. That's true enough. But a childhood like that a man could harbor feelings of fear or anger. Something could have caused him to snap and think that killing his family would be better for them than to go through what he did."

"You don't think he was as clueless about what was happening as the sister makes him out to be?"

"No. I think he knew what was going on. Most kids do, they understand more than we give them credit for. Let's see what the brother spins on this."

**

* * *

**

Gibbs sat at his desk as McGee continued searching for background on Chamberlain. The new agent, Gibbs couldn't remember his name, was simply sitting at his desk looking nervous. Gibbs thought back and realized that he had not assigned him anything to do. It annoyed Gibbs that the young agent didn't take it upon himself to either jump in with someone else, or come up with something to do on his own.

Gibbs rose from his chair and walked towards the new agent on his team. He watched as the younger man's face stretched in panic as he sunk deeper into the chair. Gibbs stopped in front of him as his hands came down on the top of the desk. The younger agent swallowed noticeably and took a deep breath. McGee looked up from his screen and watched with interest.

"What are you doing?" Gibbs asked.

"Ah, ah, um, I…uh," Bariston stammered.

"Sometime today," Gibbs growled.

"I don't know, sir," Bariston croaked out.

"Help McGee," Gibbs barked then headed towards the elevator. A grin slipped over his face as he saw the younger agent scrambled from his desk towards McGee's. He stabbed the elevator button with his thumb and waited for the car to arrive. He felt someone come up beside him and glanced sideways to see Jen standing there. She noticed the grin on his face and shook her head.

"Honestly, Jethro, was that necessary?" she asked, trying to hide the smile in her voice.

"Yup," he said with a nod.

"Want to grab lunch?" she asked. Gibbs looked at her and slowly nodded as the elevator doors opened. He let her walk in first before following her.

TBC……………


	11. Making Time

**Disclaimer on chapter one.**

**AN: Enjoy, I know it's been a bit of a wait. dark rolling sea.

* * *

**

Chapter Eleven: Making Time

Jeffrey felt the hairs on his neck bristle as someone walked in the room. They made almost no sound at all, making Jeffrey's already frayed nerves split even more. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Chamberlain resumed his typing. Of the three computers running in front of him, each was presenting another problem. He reached for the coffee cup, bringing it to his lips. Nothing came into his mouth and he sighed.

He temporarily forgot the eyes on his back that had entered the room until he heard feet shuffle once more. He stopped what he was doing and turned to see a short, very heavy man in a blue suit. He had a grimace on his face and Jeffrey knew he was not pleased.

Without acknowledging the man, Chamberlain swiveled back to his computers and began debugging again. The newcomer continued to stare at him, making his palms sweat. He finally couldn't take it anymore and stood from his chair, grabbing the empty coffee cup.

He walked with purpose, ignoring the man watching him, to the coffee machine and filled his cup once again. After doctoring it up with cream and sugar he stood and slowly sipped at the hot liquid. When the man in the suit didn't make a move or a sound, Jeffrey finally turned to face him. Giving him a pointed stare, he said nothing.

They stood in a stand off for a few moments before Jeffrey's attention was diverted by the door opening. A worried, tall, extremely thin man with a balding head was gripping the door handle staring at the man in front of Jeffrey. After a few seconds pause, the man looked at the thinner man with a scowl.

"You're wanted in the main office," the thin man quipped in a high pitched voice.

"Is it urgent?" the man asked obviously annoyed.

"I was told to bring you, I was not told what it concerned," the man replied, his voice shaking slightly.

"Who sent you?"

"Mr. Smith," the man said with a grimace.

Jeffrey watched the panic that surged briefly across the navy suit's face. There was something special about this Mr. Smith. It was someone he had not dealt with. As the suit was walking out of the office Jeffrey reached out and grabbed his arm. The man glared at Jeffrey as he yanked his arm free and smoothed his suit.

"I demand…" Jeffrey started.

"Finish this job quickly or you'll get nothing at all," the man spat before hurrying from the room and down the hall. The thinner man gave Jeffrey an awkward smile before closing and locking the door. Jeffrey took his half full coffee cup across the room and sat down at his chair again. He rubbed his face and glanced at the clock. He was running out of time to save them. He plowed ahead once again fixing the last major problem the program was presenting.

Armani walked into the main office timidly, wondering why he had been summoned. At first the place looked deserted as the lights were drawn low and no one seemed to be in sight. He frowned and looked around a little before he spotted Mr. Smith in his Versace suit. The man didn't look happy.

"What were you thinking?" Smith asked.

"I was trying to hurry him along."

"I thought I made it clear that you were to stay clear of that room. Leave him alone."

"It was just a few minutes."

"The more you interact the more danger you put both of us in."

"He's not going to survive this anyway."

"Making an assumption like that is likely to get us both in prison," Smith roared angrily at him. "I'm beginning to think I made a mistake in bringing you into this, Caleb."

"It was no mistake I assure you."

"Leave the Colonel be. The less you antagonize him the quicker he will accomplish his goal. This program needs to be operational in the next few days if this whole operation is to be a success. Our buyers will not wait forever."

"The buyers contacted us again."

"What did you tell them?" Smith asked with a sigh.

"That the problems are being corrected and the program will be operational soon."

"Let's just hope Chamberlain is as good as they say he is."

"My people have never been wrong," Caleb defended in a hurry.

The look Smith shot at him silenced him immediately. They stood in quiet for a few moments before Smith pointed towards the door in a dismissive gesture. Caleb hesitated for a slight moment before ducking his head and leaving the office.

The anger built in his chest as he moved towards his own office. He hated being second chair to Mr. Smith. He knew absolutely nothing about his business partner and it was time he started to learn. His pace quickened with the anticipation of his new found mission. He would dig up everything he could on Mr. Smith and then use it against him in the end.

* * *

Their plane had landed in Maine and the drive out into the country had been pleasant for Tony and Ziva. They had shared very little conversation other than discussing the case. They were pulling up into a nice three story brick mansion when Tony turned to Ziva.

"Money?"

"Has to be for something like this," she replied running her eyes over the house.

"Self made?"

Ziva simply shrugged and exited the vehicle. Tony came up behind her as she was ringing the doorbell. They waited patiently for a minute before the door opened, revealing a pretty brunette. Tony smiled wide and held out his credentials.

"Hello, Ma'am. I'm Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo and this is Officer David. We're here to speak with Steven Chamberlain."

"Yes, the agents that phoned ahead. Steven is in the study," she replied quickly, stepping back to allow them to enter the home.

Once in the study they spotted a man that bore stark similarities to the picture they had seen of Colonel Jeffrey Chamberlain. The man turned to face them, the look of sadness etched on his face, and nodded.

"Welcome, I'm Steven," he said extending his hand. After introductions they took seats around the room facing each other.

"We've come to talk about your brother, Jeffrey," Tony started the conversation. He watched as the pain flickered briefly across Steven's eyes. The man immediately buried it, holding his eyes emotionless.

"Yes, my sister called earlier. It has been a devastating day," Steven replied softly, averting his eyes from the two investigators. Ziva watched him like a hawk, judging his reactions while Tony continued.

"As of right now we're trying to determine if Colonel Chamberlain had anything to do with his family's death."

"Rachael mentioned you'd be saying that."

"She mentioned that it was tough growing up," Ziva interjected.

"Things weren't the best, no. We had to fight to survive. My father was a drunken asshole. He was abusive. When we finally left him my mother worked most of the day. I was given the role of parent at nine years old," Steven replied. Tony could hear the bitterness in his voice.

"Do you think your brother is capable of this crime?" Tony asked. Steven locked eyes with him before he looked out the window. His response was delayed but calculated.

"Jeffrey always was the smart one."

Tony looked at Ziva, noticing her confused look. He looked back at Steven with a raised eyebrow. "The smart one?"

"He was always thinking things through before he acted. He knew everything about a situation before he responded. Everyone thought he was the perfect child. I knew though. I knew what he had done."

"And what had he done?"

"Nothing to horrendous. But he did his fair share of mischief growing up. I put him on the right line though. Then he turned around and joined the Marines."

Tony noted the hint of disappointment in the older brother's voice. "When was the last time you spoke to your brother?"

"Awhile now. I spoke to Marie last week though," Steven said turning thoughtful. Ziva raised her eyebrows and waited for him to continue. Tony leaned forward with interest.

"And?" Tony prompted after a long pause from Steven.

"She was upset. She said Jeffrey had grown distant lately, from her and the kids. She also said he was more angry, more likely to snap at little things. Not like him."

"Did she say what she thought was causing it?" Ziva asked.

"Work. She said he was pushing double time at NAVAIR to finish some program. He wouldn't tell her details."

"Do you know why he would lie about his youngest son's birthday?" Tony asked.

"What do you mean?"

"He told his commanding officer he needed a day off to spend with his son since his tenth birthday was last week. We checked the records and Michael turned ten a lot longer ago."

"Michael's birthday was sixth months ago. Colby's was eight, and Annabel's is in three months."

"Why would he lie?"

"Something must have made him lie. He needed a cover for some reason," Steven thought aloud.

"Yes, to be off in order to murder his family," Ziva said with a sigh.

"I'm not going to say he's not capable, but my brother loved his family more than any man I've known," Steven replied with anger. Tony nodded slightly.

"We're still looking into it, Mr. Chamberlain. Any idea where your brother would disappear to?" Tony continued.

"Rachael and I are his only family. Otherwise I have no idea."

"Thank you for your time," Ziva replied as she and Tony stood.

Once clear of the house and in the safety of the car Tony and Ziva finally looked at each other. Neither spoke for a moment contemplating what they had just heard. Finally Tony looked back at the house.

"We're no where closer to finding Colonel Chamberlain," Tony said tapping a fist on the steering wheel.

"We got nothing from these people. Maybe we're looking in the wrong places."

"How so?"

"These people only saw him once in a while. We need to find who the wife was close to, who was close to the Colonel."

"That would be people on base. That's our next stop."

"We need to get back to Washington."

"Yeah," Tony said as he started the car and headed back to the airport.

* * *

Nicole got off the bus and made her way into headquarters. After passing through security and getting her visitor badge, she was escorted to the bullpen by an agent. She smiled as the young man left her at Gibbs' desk.

She sat down in his chair and started to slowly twirl herself in a circle waiting for him to return. As she rounded for the tenth time she caught a glimpse of him coming down the stairs. She stopped herself and smiled up at him as he walked to his desk.

"Have a good day at school?" he asked as he dropped a folder on the desk. Nicole bobbed her head at him as she started to spin again.

"Yup." She stopped spinning when she noticed Gibbs watching her. "What?"

Gibbs looked around the room before looking at his hands on the desk. He let out a sigh before he looked back up at her. "We need to have a talk."

"About what?" Nicole asked worried. "You have a fight with Jen?"

"No, yeah, well…"

"That was confusing."

"She's just not sure you accept her."

"What do you mean?"

Gibbs leaned down closer. "She's just thinking that you don't respond to her."

"Like that I don't like her?"

"Something like that."

"What do you want me to do?"

Gibbs took a deep breath standing up. He didn't know. He looked up the stairs before looking back at Nicole. "We'll figure that out. Just keep it in mind."

Nicole nodded and then began to spin in the chair again. McGee and Bariston walked into the bullpen holding paper bags, taking up their places at their desks. Gibbs looked over at the two young agents and turned to face them.

"What have we got?" he asked as they both looked up.

TBC…


	12. Backgrounds

**Disclaimer on chapter one.**

**AN: Looky here, churing out chapters now. Hope you like. Tell me what you thought. dark rolling sea.

* * *

**

Chapter Twelve: Backgrounds

"Phone records, Boss," McGee said as he placed his lunch aside and pulled a stack of papers from underneath it. Gibbs sat on the edge of his desk with Nicole still twirling in his chair behind him. Bariston continued to take bites of his sandwich.

"And?" Gibbs prompted crossing his arms over his chest.

"Bank statements," Bariston said after a swallow.

"We've got the normal on his phone records. His office and phone lines were clean. Mostly everyday stuff. His work cell phone was also clean, but his personal cell phone was a different matter," McGee continued.

"How so?" Gibbs asked.

"He rarely used it outside of family calling up until about seven months ago," McGee answered.

"When did this new project with NAVAIR begin?" Gibbs asked quickly.

"Nine months ago," Bariston replied after checking his notes.

"Right," McGee continued. "Approximately two months after production on their segment began Colonel Chamberlain began receiving phone calls from a specific number about once a day."

"We know who this number belongs too?" Gibbs asked standing and walking over to McGee's desk.

"Abby is working on that as we speak. We do know that it's not from this area. The number originates out of South Dakota," McGee said.

"South Dakota?" Gibbs asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yes. It's been routed through a lot of dummy accounts and we're having to trace it around, but I think Abby is making good progress on it," McGee responded with a smile.

"Bank statements," Gibbs barked turning to Bariston. The man nodded briskly before grabbing a stack of papers from the corner of his desk.

"They seem pretty normal for a Colonel in the Marines for the last year. No abnormal activity until four months ago," Bariston announced.

"What happened four months ago?" Gibbs prompted.

"There are a series of large deposits into the Colonel's bank account," Bariston replied.

"How large?"

"Larger than his usual but not large enough to raise a red flag. Spread out of time it didn't seem significant to the bank," Bariston continued.

"Grand total?" McGee asked.

"Since four months ago Colonel Chamberlain has deposited forty grand. The money stays in his account about two weeks and then is either spent or transferred," Bariston explained.

"Transferred where?" Gibbs inquired.

"Looks like three off shore accounts. We lose the money once it's gone," Bariston says as he reads the sheets in front of him.

"And what did he spend money on?" McGee asked.

"Twice he sent his family out of town without him," Bariston responded.

"Without him?" McGee asked

"Yes. Once he sent his family to Tahiti that was almost four months ago. Looks like just under two weeks after the first deposit. The second time he sent his family away was just last month. They visited California," Bariston explained.

"Tahiti and California," McGee thought out loud. Nicole had stopped spinning and was listening to the conversation at hand. Gibbs stood in the middle of the bullpen glancing from one agent to the other.

"Why?" Gibbs asked.

"Why what?" Bariston replied.

"He needed them out of town. Something happened those two weeks his family was gone," McGee said getting excited. He turned to his computer. "Logan, do you have the exact dates of those trips?"

"I have the dates that spending occurred."

"That will have to do," McGee said shaking his head as he rose from his chair. He walked to Bariston and retrieved the records before hurrying back to his desk. He then started to pound away on his keyboard. Nicole watched him with a raised eyebrow. Gibbs caught her look.

"What, Kido?" he asked softly.

"This is how you work?" she asked a little surprised.

"For the most part, yeah. Most of the major case breaking stuff happens just throwing information out into the open. What doesn't make much sense to you might be the missing piece to someone else working another angle."

"Oh," she said with a shrug. "Where are Tony and Ziva?"

"On the road," Gibbs replied turning his attention back to Bariston and McGee. McGee was now busy shifting his eyes from his monitor to the phone records in front of him. The elevator dinging grabbed Gibbs' attention as he leaned against his desk again.

Abby came into view and smiled sweetly. Gibbs watched her but she wasn't smiling at him, she was smiling at Nicole. The Goth lab rat walked up to the twelve year old and squatted down next to Gibbs' chair.

"Hey you!" Abby quipped as she lightly punched Nicole in the arm. The preteen smiled widely.

"Hey, Abs. What'dya got?"

This earned a grin from Gibbs as he chuckled lightly. McGee and Bariston looked up at the scene in front of them briefly, before going back to what they were working on. Abby grinned and turned to Gibbs, while keeping Nicole in her line of sight. She gave both of them her news.

"Well, I've been working on tracing a cell number down and let me tell you it's been a bear. This guy has this number routed through so many different sub accounts and fake IDs…"

"The point, Abby?" Nicole asked.

"You've been hanging out with the Bossman too much, junior agent Kido. The point is that I thought the number had originated in South Dakota. And that is what whoever used this phone wanted me to think. And if I had been an ordinary police man investigating that is where I would have stopped, thinking this phone was a dead end lead."

"But you're not an ordinary police man," Gibbs offered.

"Right you are, Bossman," Abby replied with a grin as she swayed slightly back and forth.

"And?" McGee prompted from his desk. Abby cut a glance at him before returning her attention to those in front of her.

"Well I found a hub in Virginia that the phone was routed through."

"What does that mean?" Gibbs asked.

"Means that someone used the phone in Virginia all those times that they called our missing Colonel," Abby replied.

"Do you know where in Virginia?" Gibbs asked.

"Well it got a little tricky after I figured out it was in Virginia, but I think I have it narrowed down."

"Think you narrowed it down?" Gibbs asked his impatience beginning to show through. Abby nodded slowly, her face showing that she knew he wasn't going to be completely happy with her next answer.

"Yes. I can't lock down the metro area as of right now. BUT I am still working on it."

"When, Abby?" Gibbs asked with a sigh.

"That I don't know, Gibbs, he's a tricky bastard."

"Keep on it."

Abby nodded and retreated to the elevator. McGee shuffled a piece of paper before letting out a sigh. Bariston pretended to be working on his computer in order to avoid drawing Gibbs' attention. Gibbs in turn looked at McGee.

"Boss, I think that whoever is using that cell phone also met in person with Colonel Chamberlain both times his family was out of town. This last trip to California was a spur of the moment it looks like," McGee said.

"Explain."

"The deposit actually came in hours before he booked the five tickets. He had initially booked a ticket for himself but then ended up not going. I think we need to question his neighbors and coworkers about the two weeks that his family was out of town."

"What are you thinking, McGee," Gibbs asked getting a little frustrated with his team's cryptic behavior today.

"I'm thinking he sent his family away so he could meet with whoever was paying him to steal this program. He needed a reason for them to be gone without a chance of them coming back. There are absolutely no calls from the mystery cell number during the two weeks that the family was out of town."

"Whoever has the phone didn't need to call during those periods," Bariston answered absently.

"Right. They may have been with Colonel Chamberlain for those time frames."

"We need to talk to his coworkers and his commanding officer. Good work, McGee. Grab your stuff and gas up a car," Gibbs barked. McGee nodded and headed towards the elevator.

Gibbs turned to Nicole. She looked up at him with a smile and he leaned down on his desk. She swiveled back and forth in his chair.

"I'm leaving you in the care of Jen while I go out and work," Gibbs said. Nicole gave him a small nod but he could see she wasn't quite sure of the arraignment. "Talk to her," he added in a soft voice.

"How long are you going to be gone?"

"I'll be back in time for dinner," Gibbs assured her. She nodded and lifted herself from the chair. They walked up the stairs in silence before coming in front of Cynthia. The director's secretary smiled brightly at Nicole and waved them both into the office.

"Nicole, Jethro," Jen greeted. "What's going on?"

"I got to go interview," Gibbs began. "I'm leaving Nicole here with you."

"Ok," Jen replied. He could hear the worry in her voice.

"I'll be back by dinner. I promise," he said with a nod as he turned and left the office, leaving the two females alone together.

* * *

Caleb sat down at the computer in his office. He had left the lights off to give him a little more privacy. He logged into the secure network and started to do a basic search on his partner. The name Thomas Smith returned more hits than Caleb could count and he grunted in disapproval. It was most likely a false name anyway.

He brought up another website and entered the cell number of Smith for a search. He was slightly baffled when it came back as an inoperative number. He checked the numbers again and sat wondering what was going on. He tried a few other options of finding information and came up empty handed. He picked up his phone and dialed a number.

"Dillon," he said into the phone quickly. "I need your help….No under the radar, meet me in my office."

He then hung up the phone without waiting for the other man to reply. He sat in the darkened room and waited his mind racing. He was beginning to wonder if he would pull through this little operation. He then mentally smacked himself for getting to paranoid. He nearly fell from the chair when the knock on his door came. After gathering himself up again he told the person to come in and waited.

Dillon Hastings closed the door softly behind him, watching his nervous boss. The man was tall, well over six feet, and heavily built. His sandy blonde hair was closely cropped to his head, while his grey eyes shone in the darkness of the room.

"What's on your mind, Mr. Rollins," Dillon asked taking the seat in front of Caleb.

"What do you know about Mr. Smith?"

"Not much, sir. No more than he's told us."

"Do you think you could find out about him?"

"It would be difficult to do it under the radar. I'm assuming since you're calling me in you've already tried the basic information gathering techniques."

"Yes."

"Well maybe having his prints would work. I mean if he's on record somewhere. Find out his birth date, I could help narrow down the list of names. It will take time and money, Mr. Rollins, but I think I might be able to come up with something."

"Can you do it quietly?"

"I'll try my best, sir."

Caleb nodded to the younger man as he thought about it some more. He decided to go ahead with the plan. Turning a broad smile on the younger man he continued.

"Do what you can without getting noticed. Bring it all to me," he said sternly.

"Yes, sir. I'll start right away. You want me flying solo on this?"

"The less involved the better, Dillon."

"Righto. Give me twenty four hours."

"I'll expect your report tomorrow."

TBC…


	13. Communicating

**Dislcaimer on chapter one.**

**AN: Got another chapter out, hope its up to par. Sorry took so long but if you haven't seen my profile...I've been busy working on an original story and it's been taking up much of my free time. But I managed to get this one put together so enjoy! And as always...share your thoughts and feelings! dark rolling sea.

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**

Chapter Thirteen: Communicating

Nicole sat on the couch picking at the arm. Jen continued to work at her desk, glancing at the young girl on occasion. She could tell Nicole was bored out of her mind, but she didn't know how to start a conversation with the child. Nicole sighed audibly, causing Jen to set her pen down and clasp her hands on the desk. Nicole looked up.

"Gibbs said I should talk to you," Nicole said suddenly. Jen cocked her head to the side caught by surprise.

"Oh?" she asked trying to keep her voice steady.

"Yeah," she said softly, pausing to compose her thoughts. She looked up at Jen with confusion.

"What's the matter?"

"He just said that…I don't know. I don't know what I'm supposed to say."

"What do you mean?" Jen asked, before getting up from her chair and coming over to sit on the couch. She sat down next to the girl. Nicole looked at her.

"He's worried that you and I don't get along."

"Oh," Jen said knowing that part of this was about the fight she and Gibbs had had.

"I just miss my mom," Nicole said as the tears started to build in her eyes. "I really really miss her and it's been so hard to be strong for Gibbs."

"Oh, Kido, it's ok to be sad and miss your mom," Jen said curling an arm around Nicole's shoulders.

"I know. I try not to. But the man still comes to me in my dreams," Nicole replies looking up at Jen with pleading eyes.

"Does Jethro know about this?" Jen asked. Nicole looked away and wiped at her eyes. Jen rubbed her hand gently on the girl's shoulder. "Nicole?"

"He knows sometimes."

"Oh, honey," Jen said pulling her into a hug. "Want to talk about it?" Nicole looked up at her with sadness in her eyes contemplating the offer. She finally looked down at her feet.

"He still chases me, only now he has a face. That smile, he's always got that smile on his face. And the blood."

"He's gone, Kido. He can't hurt you anymore," Jen replied in a soothing voice. Nicole nodded slowly.

"I know that, but for some reason I can't stop dreaming about him," she replied her voice cracking slightly. Nicole then squeezed her eyes tightly shut and took a deep shuddering breath. Jen continued to rub her hand on Nicole's shoulder.

"I know how scary that can be. And I know you miss your mom. It's ok to cry sometimes you know that right?"

"Yeah," Nicole said weakly. "I just don't want to worry Gibbs. He's got enough to worry about, without me messing stuff up."

"You would never mess stuff up for Jethro, Kido, trust me."

Nicole could only nod. She had to admit she did feel better. She looked up at Jen and smiled. Jen returned it and then they sat in silence for a while. It was the phone ringing that finally broke the silence. Jen stood, walked slowly across her office, and picked up the receiver.

"Director Shepherd," she said coolly. "No, we're fine…everything is going great…see you then." Jen hung up the phone and went back across to Nicole.

"That Gibbs?" she asked picking at the fabric again. Jen smiled and sat down.

"Yeah, worrier," Jen replied. Nicole looked up at her with a frown. "What?"

"You guys fight because of me," she replied hesitantly averting her eyes.

"No, Kido, it's…"

"It's ok. You don't have to lie," Nicole said with sadness. Jen closed her eyes and rolled her neck, before wringing her hands in her lap.

"Ok, I know you pick up more than we give you credit for," Jen replied taking a deep breath.

"I don't want you guys to fight because of me."

"There's more too it, Nicole. It's…it's complicated. He's complicated."

"What do you mean?" Nicole asked. Jen gave her a smile and then looked at the floor as she tried to put her thoughts into words. It was difficult for her to express, especially with a twelve year old. Nicole sensed the hesitation and started to get up from the couch. She stopped when she felt Jen's hand close lightly around her arm.

"No, it's ok, I'm just…thinking," Jen replied with a smile. Nicole sat back "Some day you'll understand, I know you're confused right now, but some day, it will all make sense. For now, just remember, it's not you that causes Jethro and I to fight, ok?"

Nicole slowly nodded. Jen was right, she didn't understand, but she also realized how hard it was for Jen to express what she was thinking. She decided it was enough of an answer to leave it be for now. Nicole smiled at her, and Jen returned the gesture.

* * *

The ride was quiet as Gibbs, McGee, and Bariston headed toward the base. The traffic was light and they made it in just over an hour. Bariston was a little pale as he got out of the car, his first driving experience with Gibbs behind the wheel.

Gibbs held the smirk in check as he watched his newest agent stagger from the vehicle. They approached Colonel Haggerty's office with McGee taking the lead. Gibbs stood behind the young man observing. Bariston took a spot next to McGee.

"Is Colonel Haggerty in?" McGee asked the man sitting at a desk. He looked up briefly, eyeing the three visitors before returning to his work.

"He's in an appointment," the man replied flatly. Gibbs smirked and shifted his weight behind McGee waiting to see what the younger agent would do. McGee hesitated a moment before he pulled his badge out.

"I think this trumps his appointment," McGee replied as Bariston fumbled his badge out as well. The young Marine looked up surprised. His eyes caught the open wallet badge and held it. He then looked up at McGee and Bariston. The Marine then glanced around McGee at Gibbs and smiled.

"Right. How can I help you?" he asked.

"We need to speak with Colonel Haggerty about Colonel Chamberlain," McGee continued. The young Marine nodded slightly.

"Heard about that," he said softly. "Let me check with the Colonel. See if he can pull himself away from his appointment."

"Thank you," McGee replied as the Marine picked up the phone. Gibbs let the small smile play over his lips as he turned and scanned the room they were in. He heard the Marine hang up the phone and then tell McGee the Colonel would be out shortly. Gibbs walked over and took a seat on the sofa while McGee and Bariston stood waiting.

The wait was brief and soon a short but stocky officer emerged from the closed door, followed by a taller, built junior officer. The junior officer continued out the door without a word or nod, while the short stocky man stopped in front of McGee and Bariston. Gibbs remained seated where he was.

"I'm Colonel Haggerty, how can I help you?" the short stocky man asked.

"Special Agents Bariston and Gibbs," McGee replied while pointing to the men as he said their names. "I'm Special Agent McGee, of NCIS. We need to ask you some questions."

"About Jeffrey," the man said with a sigh. "Yes, come into my office. We can talk there."

McGee and Bariston followed Colonel Haggerty as Gibbs rose from the sofa and brought up the rear. McGee and Bariston took the two chairs in front of Haggerty's desk while Gibbs stood leaning against the closed door.

"Sorry I only have 2 chairs," Haggerty said with a shrug. Gibbs simply nodded at him, keeping the cool unreadable exterior. He could tell Haggerty was a bit unnerved by it. McGee took charge and began the questioning.

"We need to ask you about some issues we've come across in Colonel Chamberlain's personal life," McGee asked.

"What sort of issues?"

"Money issues," Bariston added.

"Money issues? Not Jeffrey. He…"

"He had monetary deposits of large amounts starting a few months ago. Right after he started on this project," McGee explained. "He was also in constant contact with someone via cell phone beginning shortly before the monetary deposits begin."

"You're saying Jeffrey stole the program?" Haggerty asked shocked. Gibbs watched the man closely.

"We're saying the evidence is pointing towards that conclusion," Bariston replied.

"What we need to know is did you notice someone around when Chamberlain's family was out of town?" McGee continued.

"Out of town? Oh, yes I remember, twice they went out of town. Jeffrey was supposed to go the one time but this project, he couldn't just leave."

"What did Chamberlain do when his family was out of town?" McGee tossed out.

"What do you mean? He worked twelve to fifteen hours a day those times."

"Was there anyone staying with him at the house? Did he seem agitated?" Bariston asked.

"Agitated? We were and still are agitated. You have no idea the pressure that this lab goes under when we have to complete a project such as this one," Haggerty said, the tension showing in his voice.

"Enough pressure to break?" Gibbs said from the back of the room. Haggerty's eyes snapped up, and the look he threw at Gibbs made him smile. "Just a question."

"Listen, we were all under tremendous strain to get this thing done, done right, and on time."

"Did you ever see Chamberlain with someone you didn't know during the time his family was out of town," McGee tried to steer the conversation back on track.

"No," Haggerty spat out still locking eyes with Gibbs.

"Would there be anyone else we can talk to that might have?" Bariston asked. Gibbs crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'll get you a list of names you can ask. The only thing is that the project is off limits. You are not to ask any questions about the content of the program," Haggerty replied.

"We're not interested in your program, Colonel Haggerty," Gibbs remarked. "We interested in who butchered the Chamberlain family."

Gibbs could see he had stung the other man. Haggerty lowered his eyes to the pad in front of him and started writing. Bariston glanced over his shoulder at Gibbs for a second before returning his eyes to the Colonel. McGee sat quietly waiting for the list from the Colonel.

Once they had the list in hand the three NCIS agents filed from the office and headed deeper into the lab building. The young Marine they had encountered was now their guide as they searched out the first name on the list.

The young man continually chatted with McGee and Bariston as they walked the hallways, chatting about this lab or that lab. Gibbs ignored the conversation and ran the interview with Haggerty over in his mind. There was something about the Colonel that Gibbs didn't quite like.

They came upon a large white room that Peterson, as they learned was the young Marine's name, used a pass card to open the door for them. He led them across to another door.

"You can't go in there but I can call Lt. Colonel Marks out for you," he explained as he depressed a button on the intercom. There was a muffled sound and a flashing light appeared on the other side of the door.

"Yes?" a voice called through the box.

"Can you send Lt. Colonel Marks out for me?" Peterson asked.

A woman with long brown hair pulled back into a braid walked out when the door opened. She eyed the party of four curiously before turning to Peterson. Peterson explained who they were and why they were there. Gibbs saw her face grow to understand, as the sadness crept into her eyes. She nodded slowly as she led them to another room. She sat down at the head of the table while McGee sat to her left and Bariston sat to her right. Gibbs stood at the far end of the table, watching the interaction.

Lt. Colonel Marks didn't have much to add as McGee ran through a list of questions for her. Gibbs was more interested in the reactions to the questions. McGee was doing a good job of mixing in the tough questions with the easy ones, keeping her talking while he probed deeper into Chamberlain's last few months.

"And you don't remember seeing him with anyone during the times the family went on vacation?" McGee asked.

"No."

"What about phone calls?" Bariston asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Did Colonel Chamberlain take a lot of personal phone calls when he was working?" McGee asked.

"Oh, we're not allowed to have cell phones in that lab. But when he was on break he was usually on the phone."

"Do you remember any conversations you may have overheard?" Bariston continued.

"I don't listen to other people's phone calls," she replied a bit defensively.

"Everyone does," Gibbs spoke for the first time drawing Marks' eyes to his own. He studied her for a moment before she looked away.

"Ok. So maybe I overheard a few here and there. I wasn't listening in on purpose."

"We don't care. We care about what the conversations were about that you heard," Gibbs replied coolly.

Marks turned cold eyes on him, but he simply smirked at her and shook his head. "I don't recall. They seemed personal."

"Was he ever agitated on the phone?" Bariston asked.

"We are all agitated," she snipped at him. "But yes there were a few times he was very upset with the person he was speaking too. It seemed like he was trying to defend himself."

"Thank you," McGee said with a smile. Marks rose and quickly walked from the room leaving the three agents to ponder the interview.

"Defending himself over the phone…the delay?" Bariston stated.

"Possibly. If he was in contact with the buyer and had to explain the glitch they probably wouldn't have been happy with him," McGee replied.

"She knows more than she said," Gibbs replied. McGee and Bariston looked up at him. "So does Haggerty."

"You don't think they are all in it together do you?" Bariston asked.

"Why would they report him missing?" McGee asked. Bariston's brow crinkled in confusion.

"Why not?" he asked.

"If they were all in it together and he went to meet with the buyers they wouldn't report him as missing and draw in unwanted attention. Either they are in on it or there is more going on here that meets the eye," Gibbs replied. "Let's get the rest of these interviews done."

TBC…


	14. The Program

**Disclaimer on chapter one.**

**AN: Holy crap stain batman! I know I know! A lot of you thought I forgot about this one! But I didn't...and in light of a couple recent reviews asking for more...I wrote this baby tonight. Hope you like it. I did enjoy writing it. It was a seat of my pants chapter but I think it gave the story it's next direction...So sit back, buckle up, and enjoy the ride, and remember as always, comments are always welcome! dark rolling sea.

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Chapter Fourteen: The Program

As the day of interviews dragged Gibbs felt more and more agitated. His shoulder was sore, and the interviews were going nowhere. Each programmer they talked to had the same thing to say, in the long run, nothing. Gibbs was frustrated. He could tell they were holding back, but he still didn't know why.

He had been content to sit back and let McGee take the lead, and Gibbs was highly impressed with the progress the young agent had made in his absence. Barriston sat silently next to McGee, diligently taking notes, as Gibbs tried to detect the reason for the covering everyone seemed to be doing. Gibbs finally spoke during a break in the stream of personnel.

"They're all hiding something," Gibbs said.

"But what?" McGee asked. "They all have the same story. All say the same things about Colonel Chamberlain."

"And yet they're holding back," Gibbs continued. "Maybe it's something about the program. What do we know?"

"It's a weapons system for naval fighter jets," Bariston replied.

"New or updating old programming?" Gibbs asked.

"Most likely it's new programming," McGee added. "It would seem more likely in how much pushing they are doing to get it done that they would be completely revamping their systems."

"So if it's all new and he disabled this version, what good would it be to sell the code?" Gibbs asked. McGee looked at him for a moment, thoughtful, before he answered.

"Well depends on who is buying and why they are buying."

"Explain," Gibbs said, feeling a headache coming on. He absently rubbed at his sore shoulder.

"If they are buying it as a link into our systems, then no. We'll change our programming and go a different route, but if they want it to improve their own air force," McGee said.

"Why not write the code themselves?"

"Easier to just buy it," Bariston said with shrug.

"Something isn't adding up," Gibbs replied with a slight shake of his head. McGee sat back in his chair and stared at the table top. Bariston watched the other two.

"It doesn't seem logical that they would simply be buying programming. Most likely they are expecting to get the same system that we are using. But now, there's no way that we'd use that programming," McGee continued.

"So what's the worth of the programming? Why kill his family and disappear with it?"

"The important question is why leave a trace that he took it," McGee said.

"You're right. He could have just copied it and gone," Bariston replied. "But he bugged it so they would know."

"If he hadn't bugged it they wouldn't have known?" Gibbs asked.

"He added some code that corrupted data and left a trace that a copy had been made. If he hadn't messed with the coding, simply made duplicates of it, he may have escaped unnoticed," McGee explained.

"So why leave a trace?" Gibbs asked.

"We should ask Colonel Haggerty that," McGee asked. The three men sat in silence a moment before Gibbs began to speak again.

"We're learning nothing from these people. Colonel Chamberlain was very good at what he was doing. Let's talk to Colonel Haggerty and head back to DC."

McGee and Bariston both nodded and rose. The three called for Peterson to take them back to the main office and once there they cornered Haggerty at his desk. They could see the nervousness clouding the Colonel's face and Gibbs moved front and center for the first time that day. McGee and Bariston stood closely behind him.

"We've got some questions for you," Gibbs said taking a seat.

"Anything to help," he said less than convincingly. Gibbs stared at him. Haggerty swallowed.

"Why did Chamberlain leave a trace that he had taken the program. He had a copy and he was gone. Home free. All he had to do was finish the program wherever he went. But he didn't, he sabotaged your version of the program."

"I don't know," Haggerty said unconvincingly.

"Try again," Gibbs said harshly.

"I have no idea what Jeffrey was doing!" Haggerty whined as sweat popped up on his forehead. Gibbs continued to bear down on him.

"Chamberlain stole the program but it's useless for him to sell," Gibbs continued. "Isn't it?"

"Things are just going so wrong," Haggerty whispered tears brewing in his eyes.

"Explain," Gibbs barked wondering why the man was close to breaking down.

"Nothing like this was supposed to happen. They said it would be an easy assignment."

"Who said?"

"Christ, no one was supposed to get hurt!"

Gibbs looked at McGee with curiosity. McGee shrugged and Bariston seemed to disappear behind McGee. Gibbs looked back at Haggerty as the man completed his break down. Tears streamed down the Marine Colonel's face as he buried it in his hands. Gibbs didn't know what to say next.

They waited for several minutes while Haggerty struggled to regain control. Once he finally stopped the tears he did his best to still his ragged breathing. He looked up at Gibbs ashamed and pursed his lips tightly before he said anything.

"I'm sorry, that was…unprofessional," Haggerty said in a weak voice. "We've all been on edge for so long, and then this…this wasn't supposed to happen like this."

"Start from the beginning," Gibbs replied calmly.

Haggerty took a deep breath and looked at his desk before he started in on his story. "A man approached Jeffrey and I shortly before we were given the assignment. We were told he was coming by a Rear Admiral so we received the man with open arms.

"He laid out a plan for us, it seemed easy enough and we had the option to refuse the assignment. But Jeffrey he said it wasn't a problem. He took it on by the horns. We were to work on a program, supposedly started at another base, and sent to us for the bulk of the coding. The man said Jeffrey would be contacted by another party and given further instruction. I was left out of this part and every time I asked Jeffrey he wouldn't tell me what his assignment was.

"He told me it was classified and that it was better off if I didn't know. Then I noticed that Jeffrey was changing. He would get phone calls during breaks, or shortly after his shift ended. And these phone calls would agitate him. He became more and more closed off and the more I tried to talk to him the more he closed down.

"Something happened in that assignment he took that changed who he was. And then, then he needed a day off. We came up with the cover but he said it was part of his assignment. So I granted it. And then…then we found…we found his family…slaughtered."

"You have no idea who the man was that brought the assignment to you?" Gibbs asked when Haggerty finally finished.

"No. He said his name was Mr. Smith that was it. Yes, I know, but that's what he said."

"What agency did he work for?" McGee asked.

"He said CIA, but in lieu of all this, I'm not sure anything he said was right."

"Who was the Rear Admiral that cleared the way?" Gibbs asked.

"Rear Admiral Travis Kincaid," Haggerty said sounding exhausted. "He's at the Pentagon."

Gibbs rose from the chair and stood a moment staring at the Colonel. McGee and Bariston had already started filing from the room. Gibbs glanced at them, waiting until they were out of earshot, and then turned back towards the Colonel.

"We'll get to the bottom of this," Gibbs told the Colonel. Haggerty nodded slowly.

"Jeffrey didn't kill his family, Agent Gibbs. He would never do such a thing."

"We haven't ruled it out, but with another angle to pursue it's a possibility," Gibbs responded before turning and leaving. Haggerty dropped his face into his hands again as he let his emotions overtake him.

* * *

Jeffrey felt his eyes closing slowly with each passing second. He struggled to stay awake, wanting desperately to finish the coding. He wanted his family; he missed them terribly and knew they must be frightened.

He finally gave up. It was no use he told himself, he would have to finish after he got some sleep. If his current state he would miss something, the code would not be perfect and he would have to redo it anyway. He pushed from the computer and moved around the room that was more like a cell.

There was a cot on the far side and he lay down and pulled the ratty blanket around himself. He stared at the ceiling for a moment as his mind swam with everything that had happened in the last six months. His life had fallen apart, all because Admiral Kincaid had come and asked him to do a favor.

This program was useless though, he had made sure of that, right after he suspected that not everything was kosher with this assignment. He had bugged the original. They knew he had a copy now, and they would be looking for it. He had also programmed in a tracking agent to the code he was working on now. If put to use the code would send a beacon back to a computer at NAVAIR. It was his own personal invention and he was making it near impossible to detect.

His exhaustion was overtaking him and he slowly slipped into a nightmare of sleep. His dreams were fitful and filled with surging lines of code. His brain was overloading but he knew he had to expand past his boundaries if he was going to survive this.

* * *

The evening was stretching towards dark and Smith was still feeling the affects of the headache he had obtained earlier in the day. His nap had helped, but his partner still infuriated him. He had disobeyed and entered the room. Smith knew that Chamberlain needed space and time to finish the code; it wasn't something that you could push someone to do faster. All that would result in was faulty code. But try telling that to Rollins.

He took a deep breath to calm himself and began thinking about his next move. He thought about bringing in Chamberlain's family to ease the Colonel and coerce him into finishing the project with as little resistance as possible. He had had Rollins secure them the day Chamberlain had been brought to the facility.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his office door. He looked up to see Jason Briggs standing patiently waiting. He called for the young man to come in and Briggs stopped short of his desk. He saw the nervous look on the young man's face and his features dropped into a frown.

"What is it Jace?" Smith asked with a sigh. Briggs looked at his feet briefly before he looked at Smith confidently and answered.

"It's Rollins, sir."

"What about my dear partner Caleb?" Smith said with a sigh of impatience. His partner really was starting to draw on his nerves.

"He's looking into you, sir."

"Looking into me?" Smith asked cautiously.

"He has Dillon Hastings digging up whatever he can find on you."

"Has he found anything?" Smith asked impatiently.

"Is there anything he can find?" Briggs asked with downcast eyes.

"No I suppose not. The nerve of that little weasel to try and dig something up on me. After all I'm given to him," Smith said with a sigh. "Thank you, Jace, please keep me informed."

"Yes, sir," Briggs replied and turned to leave. He was at the door before Smith called to him.

"And, Jace?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Do let me know if he goes too far."

"Hastings or Rollins, sir?"

"Both, either, anyone."

"Yes, sir."

With that the young man was gone and Smith felt his stomach rock. He hoped it was simply his nerves. He laughed to himself as he thought he was getting too old for this sort of work. Hopefully this would be his last job. His mind went to Dillon Hastings, and what Caleb Rollins had set him to. This was going to get worse before it got any better, he thought with a sad sigh.

TBC…


	15. Taking Care of Home

**Disclaimer on chapter one.**

**AN: Wow, two chapters in one day. Told you it was taking hold. Hope you are enjoying, leave your comments as you go. dark rolling sea.

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Chapter Fifteen: Taking Care of Home

Jen checked the clock again, letting out a sigh. She had sent Nicole down to Abby's lab hours ago, and now she waited for Jethro's return. He had promised by dinner time, but as the clock slowly ticked past, she realized it wasn't going to happen. She had tried his cell phone but got no answer.

She collected her things and left her office, heading to Abby's lab. She and Nicole left head quarters and headed towards Gibbs' house. Nicole was quiet, continuously staring out the window. Jen could tell she was disappointed. She looked over at the twelve-year-old and smiled.

"I'm sure he had a reason to be late," she said quietly. Nicole looked at her a moment before she slowly nodded.

"What are we having for dinner?" Nicole asked. Jen looked at her, then the clock. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed. Nicole watched with curiosity before smiling. Jen was ordering them pizza.

They were home twenty minutes before the delivery man showed up. Jen paid him and then she and Nicole settled into the living room with their dinner. Jen found herself continually checking the clock, as it grew later and later. Gibbs still didn't show. Nicole finally looked up at her with a small smile.

"It's ok. I'm going to bed, tell him I said good night," she said softly before getting up. Jen watched her and then it was quiet in the house. She got up and walked down to the basement and looked over his boat. She knew how much it hurt him to not work on it. She was running her hand along the smooth finish when she heard the door upstairs close gently. She stayed where she was, waiting for him to find her.

Gibbs hung his coat on the rack and looked around. There was a pizza box on the counter and he grabbed a slice, eating it quickly. He then went to Nicole's bedroom and checked on her. She was sleeping soundly. He watched a moment before quietly closing the door and heading to his own bedroom.

He was slightly shocked to see Jen wasn't there waiting for him. He chased his first thought away, that Jen had left Nicole here alone, before starting his search of the house. He went to the basement and that was where he found her. She smiled at him as he came down the stairs but he could see it was forced. He swallowed, he thought they were ok.

"Hey," he said by way of greeting. She nodded but didn't say anything. He paused a moment feeling unsure and hating it. "Everything ok?"

"You're late," she said at last. Gibbs looked down at his hands feeling the pang of guilt.

"I'm sorry. I'm not used to having to call…" he mumbled lightly.

"I tried calling you."

"I had my phone off. We were in interviews," Gibbs replied the stress of the day showing in his voice. Jen moved to him and gently placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Maybe it's too soon for you to jump…" Jen started. Gibbs cut her short with a glare. His face then softened.

"It's not that. It's this case. We have evidence now that the Colonel may have been working for a government agency on this whole thing," Gibbs replied. He rubbed his thumb along her jaw. "But let's not talk about work."

Jen nodded slightly before she leaned in and gave him a kiss. Jen started to undo the buttons of his dress shirt and Gibbs couldn't stop the grin. He steered her upstairs and into the bed room.

Hours later Gibbs woke with a start. Something had vibrated through his dream. He looked at the clock and saw it to be the middle of the morning. He looked around the room, searching for any sign of what had woken him. He strained his ears, listening to the sounds of the house. Jen was still in deep sleep, her body tangled with his own.

It was then; he heard it, a muffled crying noise coming from down the hall. He carefully extracted his body from its entanglement with Jen, pulled on his boxers and white t-shirt, then padded softly down the hall to Nicole's door.

He pushed it open lightly and saw her sitting in the middle of her bed hugging her knees to her chest. She looked up quickly when she saw the light from the hallway enter the room and she gasped, scrambling back against the headboard of the bed. Gibbs quickly made his way to the side of her his voice soft and soothing.

"It's ok, Kido, it's me, its ok," he reassured her as he sat down on the edge of the mattress. Nicole seemed to look at him a moment before she finally came back to reality and realized it was him. She then sprang forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. He took her weight and supported her hugging her tightly to his body as she cried into his shoulder.

Once she had settled down they sat in silence for a long while. Gibbs continually rubbed her back. Finally she pulled from him and sat down on the bed with her knees pulled up. Gibbs sat for a moment, unsure of how to proceed, before he finally broke the quiet of the room.

"Bad dream?" he asked softly. She nodded.

"He was here, in the room," she whispered. Gibbs nodded his understanding, his arm settling around her shoulders.

"He's gone. Tony killed him."

"I know," she said the tears threatening to return. "But I keep seeing all that blood. My mom, she's just lying there, and the blood, and he's…he's grinning."

"I know," Gibbs said not knowing what else to say to her.

"I didn't mean to wake you up."

"No sweat, Kido."

"At least you didn't smack your head this time," she replied with a ghost of a smile. Gibbs grinned at her, his hand absently going to the small scar over his eye.

"Yeah."

"You said you'd be home for dinner," she said with a small shrug. Gibbs looked at her and nodded.

"I know. The interviews went longer than we thought they would."

"You could have called," she continued. "Jen was worried."

"Just Jen, huh?"

Nicole looked up at him and shrugged. Gibbs features softened before splitting into a full grin. Nicole ducked her head, hiding the smile crossing her mouth. She didn't say anything and Gibbs tugged her closer and pressed her to his side.

"I'm sorry, Kido, I'm still getting used to all this."

"I know. Jen and I talked. Did she tell you?" Nicole continued her face turning up to look at his reaction. Gibbs shook his head. "Oh. I think I understand now. But I still don't like it when you fight."

"I don't like it when we fight either, Kido. No one likes it, but it's a part of life."

There was a long pause. Nicole fought to control the tears forming in her eyes. "I was really worried about you, Gibbs. What if you don't come back? What if you go on a case and you don't come back?"

Gibbs looked down stunned. He had no idea that this was also weighing on her mind. It was enough that she had to grieve for her mother, deal with this crankiness of healing, and have nightmares of the man that kidnapped her. He took a deep breath and pulled her into his chest.

"I didn't know you worried like that," Gibbs replied softly. "I promise to call from now on. I'll make sure you or Jen knows what's going on. That's my fault, Nic, my fault."

They sat in silence for a while as Gibbs held her. He finally felt her body relax and listened as her breathing deepened and evened out. She had fallen asleep again. He gently tucked her under the covers once again and kissed her forehead.

He stood and watched her a moment before he turned. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Jen standing in the doorway wrapped in a robe. She had a small smile playing over her lips. He walked to her and she turned and headed back to the bedroom. Gibbs took one last look over his shoulder at Nicole before he joined Jen.

"You heard?"

"The end of it. You're very good with her," Jen replied softly as they lay on the bed once again. She snuggled into his chest. Gibbs stared at the ceiling.

"I never even thought about it."

"What?" Jen asked sleepily.

"That she would worry about something like that. I was only going to do interviews. I just didn't…think."

"It's all new, Jethro, things will come back to you," she replied softly as her eye lids slipped shut.

He looked down at her and nodded; only she didn't see it. She was already asleep again. But Gibbs wouldn't sleep tonight, not anymore. He had too much on his mind. This was something he needed to address and come to terms with, himself and with Nicole. He would need to be more conscious of checking in, letting his family know he was ok.

* * *

By the time Tony and Ziva returned to the office it was deserted. They were both tired from their day of travel, and both frustrated from the little that they garnered from it. Tony sat at his desk and organized what he would tell Gibbs in the morning while Ziva was readying to leave.

She was walking out when Tony rose and hurried after her. They rode the elevator down in silence, until they reached the ground floor. Tony's stomach let loose a grumble that made Ziva smile. Tony looked at his stomach then at her and shrugged.

"Guess we didn't eat," Tony said with a smile.

"No we didn't."

"Want to get something now?"

Ziva simply smiled and the two of them walked down the block to a local bistro. They kept the talk away from work while they ate, mostly Tony talking about movies Ziva had never heard of. They were about to leave when Ziva finally spoke up.

"I sure hope McGee and Bariston did better than we did today," she said with a sigh.

"His family sure wasn't much of a help. Just a wasted day." Tony agreed. They shared a smile before they walked back to their cars and called it a night.

* * *

Jason Briggs rushed towards Mr. Smith's office. He had a sheen of sweat on his brow. His stomach was in knots. When he arrived the lights were off and the man he was seeking was asleep. He had second thoughts about waking him, but then remembered the consequences would be much worse if he didn't. He thought quickly on the best way to wake the older man.

"Mr. Smith," he said sternly, but the man didn't stir. He tried again louder, "Mr. Smith."

The man on the couch rolled and opened his left eye to a tiny slit and looked at whoever was calling his name. Jason shifted nervously from one foot to the other. He swallowed and waited as Mr. Smith sat up and looked around, rubbing a hand through his disheveled hair.

"What is it, Jace?" Smith asked impatiently. He was annoyed that he had been woken up.

"It's Hastings, sir."

"What?" Smith barked his irritation growing.

"He somehow got a picture of you, it's not a good shot, but it does show some of your face."

"What?" Smith growled his irritation growing into anger.

"He sent it out, inquiring about the man in the picture, wanting any information that was available."

"Did he get anything back?"

"Yes, sir. That's why I'm here," Briggs replied with a swallow.

"Take him out. I don't _need _this right now," Smith hissed through clenched teeth. He grabbed a bottled water and took a swig. Briggs nodded quickly and left the office. His stomach was even worse now but he knew what he had to do.

Briggs moved quickly, but silently, to the room where Dillon Hastings was sitting at a computer. He was reading over the responses to his inquiry. Briggs could tell the other man was excited over his find. This was not something Hastings or even Rollins had suspected; it was going to be a good payday for him. Little did he know Briggs would never let the information reach another's hands.

He moved in swiftly, grabbing Hastings under the jaw with an arm wrapped around the neck. With a swift tug there was a sickening snapping noise as Dillon Hastings' body went limp. The deed was done, the other man was dead. Briggs looked around quickly to make sure no one had seen what had just happened.

Briggs dragged the body to the closet and wrapped a belt around the dead man's neck. He then used a chair to help hoist Hastings' body up, as he fastened the belt to the beam in the doorway. He then let the body drop. Hastings' feet dangled three inches from the ground. Briggs went to the computer and began to delete everything Hastings had found.

Once the computer was clean he wiped his prints from the room. He walked back to Mr. Smith's office and knocked lightly on the door. Smith looked up and Briggs locked eyes with him. Smith waited.

"It's done," Briggs said confidently. Smith nodded and Briggs returned to his quarters.

TBC…


End file.
